Edmonton Incinerator

Emma Best: Will the Mayor meet with a cross party delegation of Members of Parliament who are calling for a pause and review of the new Edmonton Incinerator scheme?

Sadiq Khan: Can I also congratulate you on your election to the Assembly for the first time? I hope you enjoy it.
I have been clear that London is facing a climate emergency and I will continue to oppose new incineration capacity in London, which is not needed to manage the city’s non-recyclable waste. My focus continues to be on increasing recycling services and rates across London. Where incinerators already exist, they should operate to the highest standards and capture energy from waste to heat local houses.
In November2019, there was an unsuccessful attempt to seek a judicial review of the Secretary of State’s decision to make the development consent order for the Edmonton incinerator scheme. I have no power to pause the scheme or bring any further legal challenge to this decision. Given this, I am now focused on making sure that this facility, and London’s other incinerators, minimise their local and social impact. This includes ensuring that they manage only truly non-recyclable waste, maximise electricity generation, capture and use the waste heat created during the process, and operate with the best available techniques to reduce air pollution emissions.
To support this, my Green New Deal has provided additional funding to support Enfield and Energetik in developing the low-carbon heat network that will capture waste heat from the Edmonton facility. This will allow the network to be supersized so that it can make at least an additional 20 megawatts of heat available for supply to the boroughs of Haringey and Hackney, while supplying affordable, near-zero carbon heat to homes and businesses in Enfield, too.
I am committed to London becoming net-zero carbon by 2030 and increasing recycling, especially of food waste. This is essential. That is why I am offering to work with the Government to ensure its planned funding to support more London boroughs to provide food waste collections comes forward as quickly as possible.

Emma Best: Thank you, MrMayor, and thank you for your congratulations. Unlike AssemblyMemberBerry, I cannot promise I gave you my second preference, but congratulations, nevertheless.

Sadiq Khan: Thanks for your honesty. I appreciate that.

Emma Best: I can assure you that the fight on the Edmonton incinerator is not over. It is not over for campaigners; it is not over for cross-party Members of Parliament (MPs) working on this; it is not over for National Health Service (NHS) doctors writing openly about their opposition; it is not over for the British Heart Foundation, writing openly about its opposition. It appears that it is not over for your office, which suggested that the modelling for the Edmonton incinerator did not support the capacity that is being built.
I would ask you to join that fight. Would you commit to meeting with campaigners who are currently working for a pause and a rethink of the Edmonton incinerator?

Sadiq Khan: It is really important that we are clear about who is responsible for giving permission and for continuing with the incinerator: it is the Government. I am always happy to work with particularly Members of the Assembly who are from the same party as the Government because they clearly have access that many others do not. If you have any influence over the Government, over the Secretary of State, or over the Ministers responsible for this decision, including a U-turn, then we are more than happy to work with you.
The reality is that we have explored all legal avenues open to us, including legal challenges, and, as I said in my answer, there are not any left to us. If there are any ideas you have that the Government will accede to, I am more than happy, Chair, through you, to work with Members of the Assembly.

Emma Best: Thank you, MrMayor. To confirm, will you give a yes or no answer to meeting with campaigners? The fight, as I say, is really not over on this. As you have just acknowledged, I was elected to the Assembly and not to Parliament. However, MPs are still working to lobby the Government on this. As one of the most powerful politicians in the country and in London, will you join that fight and will you commit to meeting with campaigners?

Sadiq Khan: I am more than happy to meet with campaigners, but you need to understand that I will be honest with them about who is responsible.

Emma Best: Thank you.

Health of Londoners

Onkar Sahota: What are your plans for this Mayoralty to help improve the health of Londoners?

Sadiq Khan: Londoners have worked hard to help bring the number of cases down, but we must remember that the battle against the virus is not over. As the city reopens, I will continue to support Londoners to stay safe. One of my first priorities in my second term is continued support for vaccines efforts across the city. It is the only way we are going to beat this virus and avoid more restrictions. Working with our partners and communities, we must ensure that all Londoners feel confident to take up the vaccine when it is their turn. I want to thank you, DrSahota, for the work you are doing in relation to dealing with hesitancy. As we overcome the virus itself, building a society where our mental health and wellbeing is properly prioritised, funded and protected has to be key to recovering from this pandemic. Mental health is a priority in our recovery programme. I will be invested in community-led programmes to reduce social isolation.
Dr Onkar Sahota AM: Thank you, MrMayor, and congratulations on your re-election. We have done a good job with vaccinations, of course, as well as the rest of the country, but that has been due to the hard work of the NHS staff, who have been delivering the vaccinations. What the Government can take credit for in response to COVID-19 was well laid out yesterday in the House of Commons by DominicCummings [Former Chief Adviser to the Prime Minister].
I am really concerned about one thing: that the five parishes you highlighted - Hillingdon, Brent, Harrow, Ealing and Hounslow - are where the Indian virus variant is rising. They happen to be on the doorstep to Heathrow Airport, which brings into question our policy on test, trace, isolation and quarantine. Are you reassured that we have quarantine measures put in place and that they are being properly administered to protect Londoners?

Sadiq Khan: You raise a really important question. There is a long answer and a short answer, because of time I will give you the short answer, which is: those north west boroughs are a concern for a number of reason. We are a global city. Heathrow is the world’s busiest airport. As you mentioned, Hillingdon, Harrow, Hounslow, but also Ealing and Brent, we have been concerned about for some time, not just because of Heathrow, but the vast majority of quarantine hotels are in Hounslow. Many people arriving from countries where we are concerned come to Hillingdon and stay in Hounslow. We have been checking to make sure that there is proper robust enforcement. We have been checking to make sure those staff who work in these hotels and places, even though they are younger than 30, are receiving the vaccine.
A number of things are happening. The good news is that even though those five boroughs are separate boroughs, they are working really closely together, the chief executives and the council leaders, good support from PHE and from the NHS and from councils across London and, of course, City Hall and the Government. So we need to try and make sure we do not have this virus spreading. The game changer is the success of the vaccine against the variant first found in India, but also Test and Trace is finally working and the Government has given - and I welcome this and thank them for this - additional financial support to those boroughs in relation to self-isolation support systems, but also in Test and Trace. It is working, it appears. Everybody who arrives in London does a PCR test, which is a test for genomic sequencing to see if they have the Indian variant.
That is a consequence of our teamwork across London, we have really good relations pan-London, but also I have to give credit to NadhimZahawi [MP]. He has been a fantastic Minister [for COVID Vaccine Deployment]. I spoke to him this week. Party politics does not matter. He listens to our concerns and takes steps to address them. It has been a pleasure to work with him.
Dr Onkar Sahota AM: That is reassuring because the response has to be from national government and local government collectively. Just one more thing. Of course, you will have reviewed the impact of the COVID-19 and increasing inequalities in London. Have you started to look at your Health Inequalities Strategy in light of the experiences of COVID-19 and what we can do to make adjustments to that strategy?

Sadiq Khan: Yes, very good question. ProfessorKevinFenton [Regional Director, PHE], who is respected around the country and around the world, is leading this piece of work. He is going to be my strategy adviser. DrCoffey will carry on being my Health Advisor. Kevin is keen to see if we can--

Andrew Boff: MrMayor, would you excuse me for interrupting you? The Labour Group is now out of time, so if you could bring your comments to an end that would be great. Thank you very much. Thank you, MrMayor, for answering those questions today. You are free to go. Thank you very much.

Sadiq Khan: Thank you, Chair.

Housing in London

Sem Moema: What challenges do you face over the next three years with regards to building affordable housing, the London Living Rent and the private rented sector in London?

Sadiq Khan: Can I also congratulate you on your election to the Assembly? It is good to see you.
Building more social housing is my top housing priority because the need for more low-cost rented homes is overwhelming. The evidence shows that two thirds of the new homes needed each year in London should be social rented or other affordable homes. This need has been reinforced by the impact of COVID-19, with a sharp increase in overcrowding and high numbers of households in temporary accommodation. That is why I am pleased that over half of the homes delivered under my new Affordable Homes Programme 2021‑2026 will be for social rent, giving more homeless and overcrowded households the stable affordable homes they need.
In addition, my new Affordable Homes Programme will fund the London Living Rent, which is an intermediate affordable housing product that I introduced in my first year as Mayor in 2016. The London Living Rent is based on a third of local household incomes and is designed to help middle-income households who want to build up savings to buy a home.
The housing crisis still affects too many Londoners, and the evidence shows that London’s affordable housing sector needs significantly more Government funding, £4.9billion per year for the next 10 years, to meet the capital’s level of affordable housing need. I will continue to make the case to the Government to invest in social housing, protect construction sector jobs and provide a much-needed economic boost as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Almost a third of Londoners rent privately and the COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the precarious situation they face. Lockdown restrictions have exacerbated the health impacts of poor-quality housing and overcrowding has been linked to a greater transmission of COVID-19. Nearly a quarter of private renters have seen their income fall during the pandemic, and one in 12 has received an eviction notice from their landlord. Despite having no formal powers, I am doing all I can to support private renters.

Sem Moema: Thank you, MrMayor. It is nice to see you here as well. I am really pleased to hear about the work that you are doing to encourage the Government to fund more affordable housing here in London. As we know, after the London Plan was finally signed off, it says that 66,000 new homes are needed each year in London and 43,000 of them - as you said, a large majority of them - should be for affordable rent, but the Government is funding only 7,000 a year for the next five years, which does not even touch the sides of need here in London.
Can you elaborate on how we are going to meet the needs of Londoners and how much more we can do to make sure that we get the funding that we need to meet the needs of Londoners?

Sadiq Khan: We have to be straight with Londoners that supply of new homes in London is not going to meet the demand that our city has. I have been straight with Londoners and I have been straight with the Government about what the needs of our city are. That is one of the reasons why you see homes being as expensive as they are in our city.
One of the good pieces of news over the last five years was the work commissioned by PhilipHammond, the [former] Chancellor [of the Exchequer], that OliverLetwin did [Independent Review of Build Out, 2018], which was to try to understand the diversity of London’s housing market and why there are, for example, almost 300,000 homes given permission that are not built. The answer is that it is not in the private sector’s interest to flood the market with homes for private sale.
We can help by having council homes, registered social landlords and others building homes to help diversify the housing market. We have to continue trying to lobby the Government to get more investment in affordable homes in our city. Yes, there is a role for private housing, but there also has to be a role for council housing, social rented housing and other forms of intermediate housing as well. At the same time, because it will take some time for supply to meet demand, we need to fix the private rental market as well.
We have made progress and we are in a far better place than we were in 2016 when I became Mayor, but there is still so much more to do and that is why it is important the Government works with us. Unless we fix the housing crisis in London, we are going to continue to have some of the problems experienced on a regular basis in your borough that we experience across our city.

Sem Moema: Thank you. If I could just come to the point that you made about private renters, as a case study, we have the case in Hackney of the Somerford Grove renters, who are a group of tenants in 170 flats administered by an agency and owned by an offshore landlord with no personal interest in the needs of the tenants who pay their rents. During the pandemic, like many people affected by transport, working in the transport sector, they did the right thing and followed MHCLG guidance. They asked for rent reductions. Instead of being given rent reductions, because they were working zero hours and on contracts, they were handed eviction notices.
What I want to know is whether you believe that the powers that councils have are enough to protect private renters and do you think that councils are doing what they can to protect those people, and are using those powers that they do have correctly?

Sadiq Khan: There are some councils that are using all the powers they have and are using also the bully pulpit of town halls to try to put pressure on landowners and landlords, and there are some councils that are not. In both scenarios, councils do not have enough powers. We do not have enough powers. The Government cannot have a laissez-faire approach towards this. What happens is that bad landlords take advantage of a situation that none of us could have foreseen.
Those tenants who are on zero-hours contracts have a choice. They can risk public health and go to work to get money to put food on the table and pay the rent, or they can follow the advice and stay home and self-isolate. They cannot do both when they have landlords who are putting pressure on them to pay the full amount of their rent.
You and I both know that once the moratorium on evictions ends, because there is a backlog of rent arrears built up, we are going to see huge numbers of people potentially being evicted from their homes. How is it good to have the porters and cleaners that we needed, the transport workers and shop workers that we needed, the junior nurses and teachers that we needed, losing their homes and having to live further away from the places they work? That is why it is really important for the Government to fix the private rental market. In the short term, give us the powers to introduce a form of rent control with some form of oversight. Otherwise, we will see these Londoners, whom we need, leaving the heart of our city.

Sem Moema: Thank you.

Improving Air Quality Reporting in London

Leonie Cooper: The recent Coroner’s report on preventing future deaths like tragic death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah states that there is low public awareness of air pollution levels and stated that ‘Greater awareness would help individuals reduce their personal exposure to air pollution.’1How have you improved air quality reporting in London and how has this impacted upon the health and wellbeing of Londoners?

1Judiciary.UK, ‘Regulation 28: Report to Prevent Further Deaths’, 20 April 2021

Sadiq Khan: Thank you. Ella Adoo‑Kissi‑Debrah’s death was a tragedy and we owe it to her family to do everything we can to improve London’s air quality. Since 2016, my policies have contributed to a 94% reduction in the number of Londoners living in areas exceeding legal nitrogen dioxide (NOx) pollution limits and are expected to avoid almost 300,000 new cases of air quality-related disease and over 1million hospital admissions by 2050.
We need to go further and faster to protect the health of Londoners. I am supporting the family in getting a fresh inquest and I share the Coroner’s concerns and am committed to addressing them.
In my first term, I instituted London’s first alert system to warn Londoners about air pollution episodes. Alerts are displayed across the public transport and road networks, shared on social media and sent directly to schools and the London boroughs. The NHS, Public Health England (PHE) and the London Fire Brigade (LFB) are contacted via the London Resilience Forum to cascade to their networks. My officers are currently undertaking a review of the alert system, including message testing and exploring additional methods to increase its reach, especially to the most vulnerable Londoners.
London’s air quality is now constantly monitored at around 120 reference locations through the London Air Quality Network. To expand London’s monitoring capacity and make real-time information more widely available, in 2019 I piloted the Breathe London low-cost sensor network. This year, following the successful pilot, I have partnered with Bloomberg Philanthropies to fund 195 new sensors, which are being provided for free to hospitals, schools and community groups. Live data from all monitors in London are available through the Breathe London website and the London Air Quality Map, making it easier for Londoners to access reliable real-time and hyperlocal information.
Providing this information is important, but of course it is not enough on its own. That is why I will continue to implement bold policies to reduce air pollution and protect the health of Londoners, including expanding the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in October [2021].

Léonie Cooper: Thank you very much for your answer, MrMayor. Can I join with the congratulations from everyone else? It is fantastic to see you achieve more than 1million votes last time and again this time. Of course, it is fantastic to have someone from Tooting, in my constituency, doing that.
Just to follow up from what you were saying about air quality - and I have really appreciated the work that you have done over the last five years, I know a lot of other people have as well - we have an Environment Bill going through Parliament. You have been calling for a new Clean Air Act. There is a possibility that something could be included in there, maybe perhaps legally binding targets, so that the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines come into UK law. It is not just a London problem, is it?

Sadiq Khan: Absolutely. It is worth reminding ourselves that the last time there was major legislation was in the 1950s. The concern many of us have is that if we have missed the opportunity to improve this Bill, it could be another 50, 60 or 70 years before we get another bite of the cherry.
You have been working closely with UK100. What we are trying to do is to use the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) and our cross-party working with civil society, civic groups, communities and so forth to really put some pressure on Parliament to make progress here. I had a call this week with other mayors; MayorAndyStreet from West Midlands is hoping to host in July [2021] a meeting in Birmingham, bringing together not just the metro mayors, but UK100 and also the relevant member of the Cabinet to make sure they understand what is on the table here, potentially, which is a ground-breaking Environment Bill that will lead to meaningful change or an opportunity missed. I hope it is the former rather than the latter.

Léonie Cooper: I am going to cross my fingers on that, certainly. Particularly, we have found that there have been studies that have been done in the United States (US) now showing that the impact of particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5) has been disproportionate - in the same way that the pandemic was disproportionate - in terms of its impacts, particularly on black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities.
I do not know whether we have been looking into doing that kind of research in London. Is there any evidence of that? You just mentioned Birmingham, a city of very many diverse communities as well. It is so important.

Sadiq Khan: The short answer is yes. Some of the work that we have already done shows that the exposure experienced by poorer Londoners is far worse than that experienced by wealthier Londoners. Similarly, the exposure of BAME Londoners is far greater than for the other ethnic groups. For me, this is an issue of social justice. It is the poorest Londoners - who are often BAME - who are suffering the worst air quality and suffering the worst consequences, from children having stunted lungs forever to adults with a whole host of health issues like asthma, cancer, dementia and heart disease. That is why it is really important we address this in a comprehensive way. The research in the US confirms what we know in London, which is that this is an issue of social justice.

Léonie Cooper: Social justice and environmental justice. Thank you very much, MrMayor, for your answers.

Violence reduction

Unmesh Desai: Since the easing of lockdown measures, there has tragically been a spate of violent murders across London. What are you doing to address this and to try and prevent a further escalation in violence as we head into the summer months?

Sadiq Khan: The recent violent killings are hugely concerning and my thoughts and prayers remain with those affected families. The Commissioner [of Police of the Metropolis] and I have been clear that we are absolutely determined to drive down violent crime across our city. We are both concerned that we could see an increase in violence this summer as lockdown measures continue to be eased.
I am working with the MPS to prevent violence in our communities, and our VRU is creating an extensive portfolio of preventative support for those young people most at risk. Many forms of crime were reducing before the pandemic and have continued to reduce, but I am not complacent. Our focus now is on sustaining the reduction we have seen as a result of the lockdown. During lockdown, the MPS targeted London’s most serious and violent offenders through their Violence Suppression Units. The Violent Crime Task Force is currently preparing for its annual Operation Summer Nights, which will focus on reducing violence as we emerge from lockdown.
Enforcement is only one part of the response, and I have invested more than any other Mayor in preventative activity. The VRU is supporting young people during the summer months. We are investing £1million into a new after-school provision fund specifically for vulnerable young people, or those at risk of violence. Earlier this month I announced new VRU funding of £900,000 to expand the MPS Divert crime prevention programme, a successful police custody programme that supports young adults to stay away from violence. The VRU also liaises with local authorities after serious incidents of violence and, where appropriate, offers access to their critical incident fund to support the local response. I have continued to support programmes like London Gang Exit; I announced new funding for that today as well.
As I begin my second term, I have renewed my commitment to tackling crime with an absolute focus on bringing down violence in all its forms.

Unmesh Desai: Thank you, MrMayor. Firstly, can I congratulate you on your re-election? MrMayor, I noted your answers to questions from AssemblyMemberPrince and what you have just said and I welcome the many measures and initiatives that you are taking and have been taking over the last few years. There is of course a great deal more to be done to ensure that violence does not continue to rise to pre-COVID levels over the summer. It should also be noted, however, that there has been some progress in the last few years in reducing the overall number of young people injured as a result of knife crime, which there has been a reduction in since 2018. Of course, we cannot be complacent, as you continually keep on reminding us, and one incident is one too many. What do you feel has contributed to this from City Hall? Also, looking ahead, how can you build upon this work and ensure that these numbers continue to fall over the next three years?

Sadiq Khan: Yes, that is a good question and thanks for your comments. The Government has finally woken up to the fact that austerity has consequences on a whole host of issues, including crime. The part of the equation it has done a U-turn on, which I welcome, is police funding. The Government announced 20,000 officers over three years; we have actually lost 21,000 officers over a number of years, but that is by the by. We will find out soon the third-year number of officers we will receive. We have received only about 1,300 in [each of] the first two years - 2,600 - and we need about 6,000 of the 20,000 to get the right number of officers.
The second part of the equation the Government has not recognised is the causes of crime: youth services, public services and so forth. The key point is making sure, for the CSR this autumn/winter, we get a decent settlement for those parts of public services that are important to prevent crime happening in the first place. It is really important that we continue to deal with the causes of crime as well as enforcement.

Unmesh Desai: Thank you. In your manifesto, this is what you had to say, and I quote, “I will increase visible neighbourhood policing - bobbies on the beat - in high crime areas and town centres.”
How many extra local neighbourhood police officers do you intend to bring in over the next term, and will these extra officers be part of the Violence Suppression Units or are you intending to increase the size of the existing dedicated ward policing teams?

Sadiq Khan: No, these are additional officers. What I have given the Commissioner and the MPS is additional resources, but I am relying upon the advice from the police in relation to operational matters and where the officers go. These are additional officers and they will be in the - apologies for this clunky phrase - hotspot areas. The police will be looking at the areas where there are high levels of crime, which could be in small parts of a ward, and then suppressing them. That is on top of the violence suppression work taking place across London and that is on top of the Violent Crime Task Force work taking place in the high-crime parts of London boroughs as well.

Unmesh Desai: Thank you for clarifying that point and, MrMayor, I wish you well over the next three years in your efforts to make London a safer city.

Andrew Boff: Thank you, AssemblyMemberDesai. The next two questions, MrMayor, have been withdrawn. They were question 2021/1903 and 2021/2139.

Queen’s speech

Sakina Sheikh: How will the government’s plans for the next year, as set out in the Queen’s speech, impact on the capital?

Sadiq Khan: I congratulate you on your election. It was lovely to meet your mum a couple of weeks ago and she is incredibly proud of you, I know. It was good campaigning with you and it is good to have you now as a colleague on the Assembly.
We have yet to see the detail of the Bills announced in the Queen’s Speech, but I will carefully consider their potential impact on London and Londoners when they are published. Important Bills on the environment and on policing crimes, sentencing and courts were both carried over. We will engage with the Government and Parliament as they progress in this new session. We will also study carefully the implications of the Planning Bill, the Building Safety Bill and other Bills when published.
The Government’s legislative programme also includes a commitment to refresh its draft Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy. I am keen to work with the Government to ensure its strategy reflects the needs of victims and survivors in London.
The Queen’s Speech included a commitment to a Levelling Up White Paper due later this year. I want to work with metro mayors and the Government on this to level up all of our regions for the benefit of the whole national economy. Local economy citizen regions do not exist in isolation but are bound together more than ever by supply chains and social and commercial ties. Last week I went to North Yorkshire where I met newly elected Mayor of West Yorkshire TracyBrabin and saw first-hand the state-of-the-art electric buses that are being manufactured there for TfL. Our recovery from this pandemic is too important to let politics get in the way, so I am also reaching out to the Government so we can work constructively together for the sake of London and the whole country.
Sakina Sheikh AM: Thank you, MrMayor. Thank you for your warm congratulations and my warm congratulations to you also. I was hoping we could focus a little bit more on some of the aspects around the Planning Bill that was spoken about in the Queen’s Speech. One of the things that I believe are quite worrying and laid out in the White Paper last year are the potential risks of undermining local democracy by removing decision making and making the planning system less accountable to the people who live in that community.
So my question to you is: what will you do to ensure communities and local councils are at the heart of any incoming planning reforms?

Sadiq Khan: You raise a really important question. One of the most important things councillors do, and we do, is in relation to planning and making sure that we can provide a strategic input to decisions made locally, particularly for the bigger schemes as well. Some people are caricaturing Government’s plans as a developers’ charter. I am not saying all developers are bad, nor are all developments bad, but it you take out of the equation local input it can lead to developments that are not good for the local community, do not respect the heritage and do not invest in the long-term. We have to watch out for that going forward. I am also concerned about more and more so-called permitted development. Permitted development is a way of going around all the safeguards we have in place in relation to design, quality, the type of housing, the type of development, community gain, and so forth. A lot of the community gain is around Section 106s, around the Infrastructure Levy and so forth, so we have to watch out for these things. The final thing I would say in answer to your really important question is: we have to be careful we do not make permanent physical change based upon a temporary pandemic. The West End is a good example. I am not in favour of some of those buildings on Oxford Street, for example, to be turned from retail to residential. There is a place for residential in the centre of London, but we have to be a bit careful about central developers or civil servants in Whitehall taking decisions out of local politicians’ hands.
Sakina Sheikh AM: Thank you for that answer. I agree with you, retail to residential could be dangerous for the recovery of our high streets and I look forward to working with you over the next three years to ensure that does not happen. I also wanted to focus on another aspect that I think could be quite worrying in the income Planning Bill and that is around the impact it could have on environment assessments. The Town and County Planning Association has already said that we need to strengthen our environment credentials for the Planning Law and focus it in on cutting emissions, carbon emissions specifically. How can we help shape a Planning System fit for London’s future that puts environmental quality at its heart and allows us to build the green homes our capital needs?

Sadiq Khan: There is good news - our London Plan is world-leading. We require new homes to be net zero carbon, but we require non-domestic developments to be net zero. That makes us world-leading. It also leads to innovation, not just in London but around the country, to meet the requirement that we have in our London Plan. We do have to be careful that the Government’s planning changes do not dilute some of the high standards we have in London.
By the way, the private sector loves it because we give them certainty. They can plan for the innovation, the investment and so forth. We do have to be careful, and I am sure the Government would not do this intentionally, but the Government does inadvertently dilute some of the local planning laws we have in place. The other point to make is: we should be having ambitious emission targets. We have to. That is why we have now gone from a plan to be zero carbon by 2050 to zero carbon by 2030. That provides both opportunities, but challenges as well. I am hoping there are more opportunities than challenges.
Sakina Sheikh AM: Thank you, MrMayor. Thank you, Chair.

TfL’s Extraordinary Funding and Financing Agreement

Elly Baker: Please provide an update on the Extraordinary Funding and Financing Agreement for Transport for London that was due to come into effect on 19 May 2021?

Sadiq Khan: Can I also congratulate you on your election? Enjoy the next three-plus years on the Assembly, I hope.
London’s economy represents 23% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and investment in transport here supports jobs and growth across the UK, including 43,000 jobs nationwide through the Tube investment programme alone. London has to be at the heart of the UK’s post-pandemic economic recovery, and there will be no recovery for London without a properly funded TfL. The pandemic has decimated TfL’s finances. It has shown that TfL can no longer be forced to rely so heavily on fares revenue. Sustainable funding is needed if we are going to have a transport system that continues to be safe, reliable and capable of supporting the things that are essential post-pandemic: jobs, homes and economic growth.
This month, I launched my Let’s Do London campaign, encouraging people from across the country to make the most of our amazing capital city this summer. The boost this will provide to the national recovery will be huge but, again, we need a properly funded transport network to make this happen. The current series of short-term funding arrangements does not serve that purpose. It prevents TfL from operating effectively and efficiently and puts at risk the resources we need to avoid a car-led recovery, which has replaced one health crisis with another.
Put simply, without proper long-term funding, we cannot move forward and the national recovery may stall. That is not a risk that we can afford to take, so I am asking the Government to fund TfL properly, sustainably and for the long term so that we can invest back into London’s transport network.
On 18May [2021], as I said, it was agreed to extend TfL’s previous funding agreement to tomorrow, 28May, to allow for discussions to conclude. These discussions are still underway. I am not able to provide a running commentary at this moment as I do not want to prejudice any outcomes, but I will ensure that Members are briefed and Londoners are informed about the details of any agreement at the earliest possible opportunity.

Elly Baker: Thanks, MrMayor, and thanks for your congratulations. It is good to be here.
You have talked about how we got here but, to revisit it, on 23March2020 the Government asked people to stay at home; Londoners did what was required, and we saw a 97% drop in Tube use and an 86% drop in bus use. The number of people travelling on public transport is still way below normal, as you have referred to in your oral update, which has led to a drastic reduction in fares income and a need for Government support.
Do you share my anger that the Government described this support as a “bailout” when it is no such thing?

Sadiq Khan: Absolutely. There are all sorts of definitions. Some people even - wrongly - say that TfL is bankrupt and attribute that to us saving the average household £200 via the fares freeze.
It is important to realise that every transport authority in the world has needed support from its government. We have had more strings attached than any other transport authority.
The key thing is to look forward and make sure TfL is sustainable in the medium to long term, as well as the short term. The reality is that we cannot have a situation where 72% of our transport system is contingent upon fares. That is more than any other comparable city in the world and is one of the things we are discussing with the Department for Transport (DfT) going forward.

Elly Baker: Thanks very much. To revisit that a little bit, on the long-term funding, in June2013 the Government handed the previous Mayor a long-term six-month funding deal. Why is it proving so difficult to get the current Government to commit to a long-term sustainable funding arrangement for TfL?

Sadiq Khan: That is, some would say, the £3billion question. The key thing is for us to get a deal from the Government that does not put not simply operating TfL, but also capital issues, at jeopardy. We simply cannot procure, for example, the Piccadilly line signalling we would want. We cannot make the orders for the electric buses and the hydrogen-powered buses that we want. Our ability to negotiate good deals is affected by not having long-term funding from the Government.
The Government does realise - I am not giving away any secrets - that in the short term it is simply not possible for us to provide services with even 40% on the Tube and 61% on the buses. You are right that last year we had fewer passengers than at any time during the last 100-plus years because Londoners did the right thing. We hope the Government realises that we do need a long-term deal. The Commissioner [of TfL] has been quite clear. His experience in running transport in New York and in cities in Canada and in Australia is that you cannot run them effectively without long-term deals. I am hoping the Government listens.

Elly Baker: Thanks very much for that. Thank you, MrMayor.

Bexley and Bromley safety

Peter Fortune: What is your top priority to keep the residents of Bexley and Bromley safe?

Sadiq Khan: Can I genuinely congratulate you on your election? You should be really proud, and it is big shoes you have to fill as well, I am afraid, but I am sure you will do well.
My top policing priority remains the same: to make London a safe city by being tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. That means continuing to do everything in my power to invest in the police and fund services that will help prevent violence and crime. I have invested a record £1billion in the MPS and put in an extra 1,300 police officers on London’s streets. The number of Dedicated Ward Officers has continued to increase with 1,578 Dedicated Ward Officers in post, supported by 626 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). London police officer recruitment is now at its highest level since December 2010.
I set up the VRU to give young people positive experiences away from crime and help prevent violence. The VRU’s public health approach has already benefited 80,000 Londoners. Bexley and Bromley have each benefited from a £50,000 investment from the VRU. Alongside this, the London Crime Prevention Fund provides Bexley with over £250,000 and Bromley with other £317,000 worth of funding for projects and programmes that span from crime reduction initiatives, local youth projects, and domestic abuse services.
Each borough has selected two local volume crime priorities based on local knowledge, crime data and police intelligence, which is set as a priority alongside antisocial behaviour. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) agreed to continue with the existing priorities selected for each borough. For both Bromley and Bexley, these priorities were burglary and non-domestic violence with injury. Crime levels in these priority areas have reduced in both boroughs. Borough data shows that non-domestic violence with injury has decreased by 13% in Bromley and 24% in Bexley.
The priorities shared by the Commissioner and me will be delivered most effectively by working together with communities, local boroughs and the Government. This includes the London Assembly. We want to work with you over the weeks and months ahead to discuss issues of common interest, developing a Police and Crime Plan that delivers for Londoners.

Peter Fortune: Thank you very much, MrMayor, and thank you for your kind words as well. I can assure you GarethBacon [MP] regularly reminds me I have big shoes to fill!
MrMayor, just over a year ago my family were the victims of a burglary. It is an incredibly deeply invasive and upsetting crime. My daughter’s window was smashed and my son’s room ransacked and we lost irreplaceable family items that will be gone from us forever. This was a crime that was repeated over 2,200 times in Bexley and Bromley in 2020 and 2021, despite the lockdown. It was repeated over 4,300 times the year before.
MrMayor, what are you doing to make sure that the residents of Bexley and Bromley are safe in their own homes and that this time next year burglary rates do not return to where they were pre-pandemic?

Sadiq Khan: First of all, I am really sorry that you were a victim of burglary. You are right, it is invasive. Your family are traumatised in their own home, the place they should be the most safe, their castle. One of the things that we have done to see the improvements in the figures, and by the way the reduction - it is no consolation to you who has been the victim of burglary - but we are seeing progress in reducing both these areas. It probably explains why Bexley and Bromley may have chosen burglary as one of their two priority areas, because of the experience residents were having, it being an issue for them. That shows how it does work in relation to the police reflecting the priorities of the residents, which is the reason why boroughs are given a say over what the priority areas should be.
Some of the main details given to the police have been used in antiburglary work, so marking property is a good deterrent, but also means that property can be recovered when it is found. We have seen that where you have the work done on antiburglary around marking property, around good signage in windows, around Neighbourhood Watch schemes, around high-visibility policing, around the council supporting CCTV, around unmarked vehicles and marked police vehicles, there is a big reduction in burglary compared to other boroughs that do not have it as a priority and have not seen that work.
I am more than happy to have you sit down with the Basic Command Unit (BCU) team as well as the Commissioner’s team to explain the things we are doing. If there are additional things we can be doing in the boroughs that have burglary as a priority, we will be happy to do that. The advantage of having burglary as a priority in those boroughs that have them is that we can then learn the lessons from those boroughs and use them elsewhere, even if burglary is not a priority. I am hoping to see a further reduction. I mentioned the numbers, which again are no consolation to you. We are going to see further reductions going forward as well.

Peter Fortune: That is very kind and thank you for your words as well. I think you will agree that solving crime also prevents crime. Taking criminals off the streets means that they cannot commit any more crime. Just looking at some of that data from the dashboard we are looking at, violence has increased from 9,426 in 2016/17 to 11,520 in 2020/21, which is an increase of 22%. But the sanction detection rates, so these are some sort of formal sanction, be it a charge or a caution, fell from 21.3% down to 9.9%. Moving to vehicle offences, we have an increase from 4,483 in 2016/17 to 5,776 in 2020/21, which is an increase of 26.6%. But again, that sanction detection rate fell from 3.3% to 1.3%. What plans do you have as Mayor to increase the number of crimes that are solved?

Sadiq Khan: This is a regular theme of conversation, not just with the Commissioner, but with the criminal justice system partnership. I have seen huge media coverage, and rightly so, like the report this week in relation to rape and the low numbers of detection and sanction rates. When you speak to the police, one of the things they will tell you, which is accurate and correct, is the police are often arresting people for some of the crimes that we are concerned about. The issue is what happens in the rest of the criminal justice system. The Commissioner speaks regularly with the Director for Public Prosecutions and others in the court system. There is a big issue at the moment, you will be aware, over the last 15 months with backlogs in courts, with attrition, witnesses not continuing with a prosecution. The police are focusing on making sure that we improve attrition rates on all sorts of crime. Rape has had the coverage in the media for the right reasons and we welcome that.
But other areas of criminality have not had the same coverage. Burglary is one of them. You will have heard this from conversations you have with police officers, often it is a small number of people doing a disproportionate number of burglaries. If you can catch them, arrest them, and they are properly prosecuted and dealt with, you will see a big reduction just by one or two people being caught in a particular borough. The police are seized of this. You will be aware, we have very little locus over other parts of the criminal justice system from courts, prison, probation and so forth. We do meet regularly with them. They share our concerns. None of them is in denial about the challenges they face. But I can reassure you that the police, who are the part of the jigsaw puzzle that I control, do work incredibly hard to detect, catch those responsible, and work with others to make sure those are properly brought to justice.

Peter Fortune: Thank you, MrMayor. I agree with you completely that the police do work really, really hard. We will be looking to see those detection rates going up. Thank you.

Crossrail (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: Will Crossrail be open by Christmas 2021?

Sadiq Khan: I would be pleasantly surprised if the central section of Crossrail is open by December [2021]. A much more realistic opening timeframe is the first half of next year, as TfL has consistently said since last summer. I know the Commissioner, AndyByford, and the Crossrail Chief Executive, MarkWild, have tasked the team with delivering as soon as possible. I would be worried if my Commissioner were not pushing the team to go further and faster, but the most likely outcome at this stage is an opening in the first six months of 2022.
Following the opening of the central section, full services across the Elizabeth line from Reading and Heathrow in the west and between Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east will be introduced. The introduction of full services will be aligned with the National Rail timetable change. This transformational railway will deliver huge benefits to London and the rest of the UK and is key to our recovery from the pandemic. When complete, the Elizabeth time will cut journey times, create much-needed capacity, transform accessibility and provide a huge economic boost, adding an estimated £42billion to the UK economy.
Significant progress has been made since the last Mayor’s Question Time. Much of the central section infrastructure is now complete and fitout is nearly complete at many stations. Several of the big engineering structures, including central section stations, shafts and portals, have now been handed over to TfL. This month, the project hit the important milestone of starting trial running. This involves timetabled train movements in the central section and is a vital step towards opening the railway. It will take some time to complete this testing before a final phase known as trial operations begins. This involves people being invited onto trains and stations to test real-time service scenarios to ensure the readiness of the railway.
Crossrail will continue to ensure that Assembly Members are kept fully updated on delivery of the Elizabeth line, which is vital to London and beyond.

Caroline Pidgeon: Thank you very much for your answer and congratulations on your re-election, MrMayor.
Both The Sunday Times and, most recently, the Evening Standard have reported that the TfL Commissioner is hoping that Crossrail might open by Christmas this year. Yet StephenHill, the project representative who scrutinises Crossrail, said last week, “The trial running period looks like it is going to be very challenging ahead”. Do you believe your Commissioner or the independent rep?

Sadiq Khan: I would not phrase the question as you phrased it. I believe what the Commissioner is saying, that we hope to have it started in the first half of next year, as I said in my answer.

Caroline Pidgeon: OK. Do you accept that the delayed start to trial running could cause knock-on difficulties in finishing the stations and upgrading the software programs on the new trains?

Sadiq Khan: Potentially, yes, but what the engineers and the transport team are trying to do is to do all the work required in the time we have. They will not cut any corners in relation to safety.
It is sometimes possible for trial running to be compressed if it is going well. One of the reasons you have trial running is to make sure you can get all the problems out. That is the purpose of it. If there are more problems than were envisaged, then trial running can take longer. The issue then is a question: can trial operations be compressed?
The key thing is to make sure it is safe and that any issues are ironed out before it opens. You have seen examples in previous decades where big projects have begun prematurely, whether new terminals at Heathrow or other projects that have not landed well. We are keen to make sure it lands well when it opens, but also it has to be safe and so no corners will be cut. With the Commissioner and the Chief Executive [of Crossrail Ltd], the first thing we discuss is safety. We are not going to take any risks with safety in the interests of opening it sooner.
I think we will still meet the first six months of next year. Everyone is focused on opening as soon as possible and as safely as possible.

Caroline Pidgeon: Thank you. It is probably foolish to be talking about Christmas, then, when it should be, as you say rightly, next year.
In terms of safety, are you aware that many safety authorisations for infrastructure and rolling stock, which are required from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and were set for completion in the spring, have still not been granted?

Sadiq Khan: Those conversations are taking place. It is the volume of documentation. The good news is - you will be aware of this because you are on top of this - it has now moved from a construction system to an operational system, which is really important because it brings in the Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations (ROGS) rulebook. A lot of this is getting the people in to do - I do not want to trivialise it - the paperwork, and so that needs to happen. TfL is working closely with the regulator to make sure all the safety reassurances are done. There is a huge number of safety checks that need to be done, but that is being done collegiately with the proper transparency and checks and balances.

Caroline Pidgeon: Is this not an area you are worried about? If you do not get this through the ORR, you will not be able to open the railway.

Sadiq Khan: The Chief Executive regularly raises this in meeting with me. Also, the good news is that AndyLord from TfL is on top of this now as well, because he has now gone from CrossrailLtd to TfL. AndyLord, who is the Underground Director, is working closely with MarkWild to make sure that the safety regulators are happy with the various checks that need to be taken. As I said to you, we simply cannot afford to cut any corners and not have safety addressed. The issue is whether we can address the volume of safety checks required by that time. The assurance I have been given is that those sorts of checks should happen by the time the rail system is ready to open and should not delay the rail system opening.

Caroline Pidgeon: OK. Let us hope that the ORR has the time to be able to do the work on its side. Given that the independent rep has stated that the budget envelope cannot be reliably underpinned, when will you provide Londoners with a full update of the expected final cost of Crossrail?

Sadiq Khan: We will not know for a while. You will be aware that the agreement we have with the Government is to borrow £825million against the Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy (MCIL) and the business rates supplement. The original estimate we had when we negotiated with the Government was £1.1billion. There is a difference between the £825million and the £1.1billion.
Some of that difference is contingencies and risk. As we get nearer trial operations, we will have a better idea of how many of those contingencies and risks will materialise. As soon as the Chief Executive and the Commissioner have a better idea of how close we are to getting to the top of the £825million, we will have started discussions way before that.
Since we have taken over Crossrail, we have been as transparent as we can be in relation to this. It is really important that the Assembly is fully kept up to date in real time, as well as Londoners. We will continue to be as transparent as we can be.

Caroline Pidgeon: Thank you very much. I hope we are able to tell Londoners soon what the final bill will be. Thank you, MrMayor.

Supporting London’s Leaseholders

Anne Clarke: What support have you offered to London’s leaseholders caught up in the cladding scandal and how do you intend to build on this during this mayoral term?

Sadiq Khan: Congratulations. It is good to see you in the Assembly and I hope you enjoy it. It was great to be out campaigning with you so much during the campaign. Also, you have raised an issue that you raised a lot during the campaign as well, which is good to see.
I have always supported leaseholders and residents affected by the building safety scandal and will continue to do so. Recent fires such as the one at New Providence Wharf have emphasised yet again the pressing need to remediate buildings made with dangerous materials. I wrote to all building owners with unsafe ACM cladding in September2020 to urge them to speed up remediation and I wrote specifically to Ballymore about New Providence Wharf. It is wrong for leaseholders to bear the costs of historic errors they have played no part in causing. I have called for a long-term fund solution to make all buildings safe, regardless of height or the type of safety defect, which protects leaseholders from costs. This solution should include my proposals for a levy on private developers. I am pleased the Government has recently agreed in principle to a levy and I will be clear in my consultation response that it needs to go as far as possible to support Londoners and people across the country.
In answer to a previous question, I highlighted the steps I have taken to ensure that new buildings in London meet tough fire safety standards, and my ambition to improve consumer experience and communication. I am proud to be a signatory to the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign led by affected leaseholders with input from the survivors of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and Inside Housing. My Deputy Mayor for Housing, TomCopley, meets with cladding campaigners regularly and I personally joined a rally outside Parliament in early 2020. Prior to the pandemic, space was also provided at City Hall for quarterly meetings of cladding campaigners in London. The Government needs to urgently resolve this crisis so leaseholders can get on with their lives without facing crippling costs to correct safety defects they played no part in causing. I will of course work collaboratively with the Government while also continuing to apply pressure to achieve this ambition for Londoners.

Anne Clarke: Thank you, MrMayor, and congratulations on your excellent election result and your mandate from Londoners. As you know, this issue is a big issue for my constituents and for residents across London. I look forward to working with you to support Londoners caught up in the cladding and building safety defects scandal.
MrMayor, the Government released the building safety programme last June, the Waking Watch Relief Fund in December 2021, and announced changes to EWS1 forms in March this year. Is this enough to end this crisis?

Sadiq Khan: No. But I do welcome and support some of the positive steps taken by the Government. There are big problems with the approach so far: buildings below 18metres are not covered with some of the financial support given by the Government; remediation that is not cladding is not covered; there are some properties where, even with a fire alarm, you may need a waking watch in the absence of remediation of the cladding. That is why the Government has to do a lot more. You will have met people who, because of the EWS1 forms, cannot sell their properties because of the assurances they need to give. The Government should be stepping up financially to resolve the issue of these buildings that are unsafe to be made safe, and then get back the monies they spend from the landowners and others. You will be aware that a lot of the owners have offshore businesses and it is really difficult for leaseholders to get a solution from them. That is why the Government should step in and sort this out as soon as possible.

Anne Clarke: MrMayor, at the October 2020 Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning (FREP) Committee meeting, RituSaha, a founder of the UK Cladding Action Group, asked for support from your office to look at inconsistencies around waking watches and buildings in London. Will you commit to investigate these issues further on behalf of Londoners?

Sadiq Khan: Absolutely. TomCopley, the Deputy Mayor, has done lots of work on this. There are a number of issues here, which need looking into. You mentioned the inconsistencies. There are the remediation works, there are waking watches, there are inconsistencies in relation to safety measures. You will be aware of some of the stuff that the National Fire Chiefs Council has said. I am more than happy, either myself or Tom, to do further work in relation to this. A lot of this is outside our powers and our purviews, but we are trying to help groups and individuals who have nobody else to turn to. Therefore, we are going outside of our powers to try to help them because that is one of the roles we can play is to support them where possible, not just being the advocate for these leaseholders, but trying to assist in relation to the inconsistencies you refer to.

Anne Clarke: Many thanks for that. Finally, you and I have both signed up to the UK End Our Cladding Scandals 10-step plan, which includes at (9) a call that mental health support must be offered to affected residents. What can you do as Mayor to actively support leaseholders and to reduce the distress and anxiety that they are forced to live with?

Sadiq Khan: I have met leaseholders who have seriously thought about killing themselves. Just think about that. Their dream was to be a homeowner, and it has turned into worse than a nightmare. One of the things we can do is try to persuade the Government to improve the service they provide. They have this independent advice service called LEASE (Leasehold Advisory Service). The Government has been asked to review the help it gives to leaseholders. I use the word ‘albatross’ to describe what some of these homes have become to these residents. Therefore, yes, we need to improve the support given to leaseholders, residents, particularly around mental health support.
One of the ways to ameliorate some of the mental health situation is by fixing the problem. We have to do a number of the things that you refer to, to try to help these residents, Londoners, who are really suffering huge anguish in the meantime. The sooner the Government can support them financially, the more that will help with the consequences of being a leaseholder in these dangerous buildings.

Anne Clarke: Thank you.

Violence in London

Keith Prince: Following the terrible murder of schoolboy Daniel Laskos in Harold Wood, I have been contacted by constituents who are deeply concerned about violence in London. I see that the MPS have recently been awarded £8 million to tackle serious violence. How will this be used in Havering?

Sadiq Khan: I know I speak for all Londoners when I say our hearts go out to Daniel’s family. I am angry and deeply saddened that young Londoners like Daniel lose their lives to senseless acts of violence and I am determined to do everything I can to ensure no family has to experience the horror of a loved one being injured or killed in a violent crime.
That is why I have already invested a record £1billion in tackling crime and the causes of crime, and why I introduced a public health approach to the issue in London. This year alone I have invested £12.85million into our Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) and in March I invested a further £8million of council tax funding in violence prevention projects, alongside £30million in additional funding from City Hall to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to protect frontline officer numbers in Havering and across London. This includes more funding for youth workers to support young victims of violence presenting at London’s major trauma centres and A&Es. Ten young Havering residents were seen by this service in 2020/21. It includes investment in tackling the criminal exploitation of children and young people by county lines gangs. In 2020/21, 145 young Londoners were supported by the Rescue and Response service, 24 of whom were from Havering. I cannot stress enough how important these interventions are and how truly grateful I am to the people working day in and day out to support them.
I also welcome the arrival of additional Government funding to boost our efforts, with £8million allocated to London in March. The Home Office is quite prescriptive about what the funding can be used for. The MPS is allocating some of this money to surge activity, to suppress violence as lockdown eases, targeting the most dangerous offenders. The rest will be invested in tailored policing approaches that use a range of data to identify and resource the primary violence hotspots in each Basic Command Unit.
I am absolutely committed to driving down violent crime in Havering and throughout London. We can make a bigger difference by working together, and I look forward to working with you, AssemblyMemberPrince, and the rest of the Assembly with our shared ambition of a safer city for all Londoners.

Keith Prince: Thank you, MrMayor. I am very pleased that you are keen to work together. As you know, I am always happy to be collegiate. With that in mind, will you then agree, MrMayor, to meet with some mums of victims of these heinous crimes who have in fact lost their sons with me, so that we can learn from them to help you structure your plans?

Sadiq Khan: I regularly meet with bereaved families including mums, dads, carers, siblings and so forth. I am always happy to meet more families either through you or others as well. We can arrange a time. It is very important.

Keith Prince: Can I also be cheeky, MrMayor? I know that you, like me, are passionate about trying to get people out of homelessness. You probably are aware of the Hills Foundation, which is giving away 200 free units across the South East. I have one of the units coming down to Westminster on 28June. I am going to send you a formal invitation to come and have a look. I hope you will be able to take it up.

Sadiq Khan: Yes. It is not cheeky at all. I am more than happy to, if I can. For those who do not know, AssemblyMemberPrince is a good example of us putting aside differences in party political terms and working closely together on a range of issues. I am more than happy to come down.

Len Duvall: Point of order, Chair; I do not think the AssemblyMember was being cheeky, but it is important for new Members to realise that if you ask a core question, you are meant to stick to the core question or the substance around it. If we mean to go on and stick to our rules, I understand why the Member raised it and why the Mayor answered in the way he did, but it was very different from the core question around violence.

Andrew Boff: I will take that on board, AssemblyMember. That is a good reminder.

Keith Prince: I accept that, absolutely.

Len Duvall: I understand why the AssemblyMember raised it in that way, but we need to stick to good practice.

Andrew Boff: Yes. AssemblyMembers are reminded of that rule. Thank you very much.

New Police and Crime Plan

Caroline Russell: What will be the priorities for your new Police and Crime Plan?

Sadiq Khan: I am clear on the priorities that will be reflected in my new Police and Crime Plan. First, we must continue to reduce violent crime, particularly among younger people. That is why I established England’s first VRU and why I will continue to work closely with the Commissioner to keep Londoners safe, bring violent criminals to justice, and get deadly weapons off our streets as a matter of urgency.
Another priority will be to refresh our strategy for countering violence against women and girls, building on the work that has been done over the last five years backed by a record investment. The refreshed Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy will take a public health approach to tackling these appalling crimes.
I also reaffirm my commitment to delivering my action plan for transparency, accountability and trust in policing. Work is already underway to make our police service more representative of the city it serves. I am pleased to say the MPS has record numbers of black, Asian and minority ethnic officers, but we must do more collectively to increase trust and confidence in policing, particularly in black communities.
I continue to champion victims’ rights. That is why I am pleased to have reappointed ClaireWaxman as London’s independent Victims’ Commissioner. Working with Claire and all of our partner agencies, I will continue to drive progress towards a justice service that puts victims at the heart of its work.
Under my leadership, and because of the difficult decisions I made in my first term, City Hall funding for the MPS has reached record levels. I would not be afraid to make these difficult decisions again in the future to make London a safer city. The priorities I have described here were set out very clearly in my election manifesto and, with the renewed mandate I have from Londoners, work is already underway on developing them into my new Police and Crime Plan.

Caroline Russell: Thank you, MrMayor. When will your Police and Crime Plan be published?

Sadiq Khan: I hope to get to consultation in summer. Could I, Chair, with your permission, email the Member to give her more precise dates?

Caroline Russell: Thank you. I will look forward to seeing the draft plan. You have started with a lot of community engagement in your action plan because you know as well as anyone else that a paper or online consultation simply will not reach widely enough to all the communities in London. How will Londoners be involved in developing your new Police and Crime Plan?

Sadiq Khan: I am really happy to work with the relevant Committee in relation to talking through the consultation plans we have. If there are any ideas Members have, we are more than happy to take those on board. I suspect - my fingers are crossed - we will be out of the pandemic by the summer, so we will not have to worry about the health risks. Chair, can I suggest that my Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime works with Members of the Assembly to make sure we have a proper consultation, which is really important for a Police and Crime Plan?

Andrew Boff: Is that acceptable to you, AssemblyMemberRussell?

Caroline Russell: That would be very helpful, yes. I look forward to hearing about that. The important thing is that Londoners are right at the very heart of the plan.
The other thing that is really important is that you are looking at those first principles for policing, for example, restoring the original principles of policing by consent. Are you going to be looking at the basic principles of policing in this Police and Crime Plan?

Sadiq Khan: I am not sure what you mean.

Caroline Russell: Just right back to the basic Peel principles.

Sadiq Khan: The short answer is that we are a city of more than 10million when you include commuters and visitors. With the best will in the world, 33,000 officers by themselves cannot keep our city safe without the consent and help of the public. That is why trust and confidence is so important. One of the things I have tried to get across is the issue of lack of trust and confidence from black Londoners affects all of us. If somebody is a victim of crime today and they do not come forward, the perpetrator - the point Peter[Fortune AM] made in relation to detection and sanction - could commit further crimes going forward. That is why it affects all of us and that is why it is important for us to improve trust and confidence. You will have seen the really welcome comments from DeputyCommissioner [Sir] StephenHouse [QPM, MPS] this week, a year on from GeorgeFloyd’s brutal murder, about the commitment that police have to improve trust and confidence. That is integral to how we police by consent.

Caroline Russell: Thank you. The other thing that is really important is obviously the public health approach, which you have been speaking about. Now, for example, will you commit to putting VRU-trained rise-up youth officers in every borough?

Sadiq Khan: I am not sure I can give that commitment now. What I am willing to do is get back to you. You are asking me to commit to something in a Police and Crime Plan that is not written yet. I am more than happy to take on board any ideas you have.

Caroline Russell: If you can have a look at that. I believe there are people in 27 boroughs, but it will be good to have them in every single borough. The only other thing I would like is for you to tell me a bit more about is how you plan to put the public health approach into your Police and Crime Plan.

Sadiq Khan: The public health approach is intrinsic and integral to the VRU work we do. It is something that needs to be an integral part of the Violence Against Women and Girls work that we do. Because enforcement is one end of the spectrum, but you have to deal with the pipeline of young people getting involved in criminality and also the male perpetrators who are responsible for the vast majority of the violence against women and girls. The public health approach, which you know as well as anybody else, is about dealing with - the way I describe it to members of the public - stop the infection occurring in the first place, deal with the infection, stop the infection spreading, using data and a holistic approach.
We have now some of the world’s best data in our city that other cities are envious about. We can
micro-target where we have intervention at an early stage, but also enforcement. We are particularly keen to use that for the limited resources that police have. It is an operational matter. In answer to your previous question, I mentioned hotspots. I think it was KeithPrince’s [AM] question. Over the next phase you will be seeing the police targeting their resources in those boroughs where there is a bigger concern around violence against women and girls or against violent crime. But the Police and Crime Plan, at its core, will have a public health approach.

Caroline Russell: That is really reassuring to hear. Thank you very much.

Reaching zero carbon in London by 2030

Zack Polanski: What new actions are you now taking to put London on course to reach zero carbon by 2030?

Sadiq Khan: Can I congratulate you on your election? Many of the actions needed to reach this goal are laid out in my 1.5C [Compatible] Climate Action Plan. My London Plan is requiring developers to go well beyond national building regulations and we need to retrofit existing buildings at scale and support a clean energy system. We also need to increase active travel, decarbonise public transport and switch to electric vehicles.
We have no time to waste, which is why I have brought London’s net zero carbon target forward to 2030. My focus is on accelerating climate action, whilst bringing Londoners new job opportunities and skills and boosting our green economy. I am also supporting new replicable approaches through the Green New Deal Fund and the whole life cycle emissions policy of the London Plan and tackling consumption-based emissions through reducing food waste in partnership with ReLondon. Retrofitting existing buildings remains one of the biggest challenges. To accelerate action, I have helped to secure £160million to reduce carbon emissions and cut energy bills from homes and public buildings.
Tackling transport emissions through active travel and electric vehicles is also a priority. There has been a
20-fold increase in electric buses since I was first elected. London now has the largest fleet of its kind in Western Europe and I am making the case to the Government for funding to bring forward our target for all buses to be electric by 2030. We will soon be powering the Tube, London’s biggest single energy user, with green energy through a power purchase agreement. I am working with TfL, the DfT and London Councils to identify land for installing electric vehicle charge points.
However, I have power to deliver less than half of the carbon savings needed. To deliver the remainder, the Government must act on areas it controls, such as setting strong decarbonisation requirements for existing buildings and/or devolving powers and funding so that London can go further and faster.

Zack Polanski: Thank you, MrMayor, and thank you for your kind words on my election. Congratulations to you as well.
I applaud much of what you said on the list and it was really good to hear your focus on retrofitting, too. I am determined, as someone elected across London to represent all Londoners, to push you further and faster when I believe that there are gaps in your plan. With that being said, we have only nine years left to get to zero carbon by 2030. I am determined to work collaboratively and cross-party on this Assembly.
How do you think we can all work together cross-party more collaboratively both as an Assembly and with you as the Mayor, to bring in the more grown-up politics to stop runaway climate change?

Sadiq Khan: Firstly, the good news is - I do not want to make Siân [BerryAM] or Caroline [RussellAM] blush, but they have worked really closely over the last five years and have been critical allies, as is their job, making sure that we work together when there is opposition from other people and also to challenge me. That is your job.
Actually, one of the things that we have done over the last three years in particular is accelerate the progress made because of the concern we have. I have said this publicly in a number of the debates Siân and I had over the last three months. The Greens can take a lot of credit for that. It is really important for us to take the public with us. The good news is - and Caroline was at the first speech I gave on this at Great Ormond Street [Hospital] - Londoners are now where they should be, whereas seven or eight years ago there would have been a public education role for us to play. That public education is there. What we see now is young Londoners putting pressure on mums and dads and carers and saying, “Go further”. That is a good place to be.
The key thing we can work together on is lobbying the Government. COP26 is an opportunity we will not get again. It is in Glasgow. That is a real opportunity. I am hoping that, working with AndyStreet [Mayor of the West Midlands] and others across the country, who are from a different party and appear to get it, we can make really good progress here, but we really have to seize this year as the time to do it.

Zack Polanski: Yes, I agree with much of that. It is really nice to hear that you want a different kind of politics as well. Your focus on young people is really important. In the last few years, I have been out on the streets regularly with community organisers, young people and climate strikers.
I was really disappointed at one point when you said that we needed to get back to business as usual. You would agree that business as usual has partly got us into this mess of runaway climate change. One idea is a citizens’ assembly. I know you have said in the past this would not be appropriate for London because you think it should be a national thing, but considering COP26 is on its way, all the eyes of the world are on London. Can you, as the London Mayor, bring in a London citizens’ assembly that could show what we can do to get to zero carbon by 2030 as one of the greatest cities in the world, to be a real example to the rest of the world?

Sadiq Khan: You do yourself a disservice thinking you are not somebody who is a citizen who can make representations to the Mayor and to the Assembly. I hope you are not going to make yourself redundant. You have a very important role to make sure that the views you are talking about are heard by the Assembly or by the GLA‑‑

Zack Polanski: Can I gently challenge that? I totally accept that. I see us as a conduit, listening to the people on the ground and then bringing what they want to say into this Chamber, but would it not be good to also listen to them and have their voices in City Hall as well as in a citizens’ assembly?

Sadiq Khan: As this is your first Mayor’s Question Time, I will allow you to interrupt me when I have not finished. It will not happen again. It is really important for us to see where there have been examples of assemblies that have worked. Camden is one example of a borough that has piloted this. I am really keen to see the experience they have and many others. I met recently with London Citizens, as I do on a regular basis. They bring a lot to the table. There are lots of examples of citizens across London who have their views heard loudly and clearly in the Assembly. As the Mayor, I will continue to find other ways to engage with Londoners, listen to Londoners, and take them with me.

Zack Polanski: I cannot wait to work with you on that.

Sadiq Khan: I look forward to it.

Andrew Boff: Thank you, AssemblyMemberPolanski. Just for the record, I am the one who allows him to interrupt.

Jobs for London’s Young People

Joanne McCartney: London’s young people have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic in terms of employment; ONS statistics show that 80% of those who left the payroll were under 35 years old with the under 25s the most affected.What are your specific plans to support London’s young people into employment?

Sadiq Khan: The jobs and skills challenge facing all Londoners is alarming in scale, and these Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures confirm the impact on younger Londoners. I welcome much of the Government’s action to protect jobs and create new ones, but it is also clear that we need tailored local responses to support our young people. I have introduced new flexibilities to the AEB to provide more job-focused training for Londoners most affected by the pandemic, which enabled 21,560 young Londoners aged between 19 and 23 to receive fully funded training.
The £32million Good Work Fund will provide skills and employment support for Londoners aged 19 and above. I will soon be investing more funds to establish an academies programme to support Londoners most affected by the pandemic as well as delivering a new careers hub, a co-investment between the GLA, European Social Fund (ESF) and the Careers and Enterprise Company. But there is more to be done. The London Recovery Board’s new deal for young people mission aims to ensure that by 2024, all young people in need have access to a personal mentor and access to local youth activities. London’s Anchor Institutions, through their new charter, are playing a key advocacy role for good jobs and fair pay to help London’s employers build back better and to address structural inequalities in the labour market, benefiting young people looking for good work.

Joanne McCartney: Thank you for that, MrMayor. London is a young city; nearly a third of its citizens are under 25. Yet they are the most at risk of unemployment. The number of under-25s in employment is currently at the lowest on record. That is particularly true in disadvantaged communities such as mine in Edmonton and Tottenham where the employment that is available is often insecure in nature. I would like to know what specific targeting you will be doing to those areas where those young people most at risk are based.

Sadiq Khan: This is a really important issue. You and I both lived through the 1980s when you had generations written off because of the mass unemployment. In fact, one of the concerns that I have is what you have highlighted, it is in the most deprived communities where there is the largest number of people furloughed or having lost their jobs. More than 300,000 have lost their jobs over the course of the 18 months in London and more than a million people currently are furloughed.
We are microtargeting in assistance to those boroughs that need the most support. That includes how we are microtargeting the AEB, but also where the skills academies will be doing work. You have seen the progress of the construction academy. We are going to see the green, digital, creative, and health and social care academies, particularly focusing in those parts of London where you have young Londoners not in employment, education or training (NEET), who need that helping hand to fulfil their potential.

Joanne McCartney: Thank you. That is good to know. This is a real opportunity to try to level up some of that inequality in our city. You have introduced the Good Work Standard, but obviously you have many links with employers. Will you do your best to make sure that they target their job and training opportunities to the geographical areas that have high numbers of young people?

Sadiq Khan: One of the things we are trying to do is to persuade the Government that, if levelling up is going to be meaningful, it has to include levelling up intra-region. You will be aware some of the poorest boroughs and wards in the country are in London and that is what your question alludes to. The good news is we are working really well with, not just the private sector, but also what we call the Anchor Institutions, the NHS, universities, TfL, the MPS, etc, to make sure they also are helping us ensure that it is the Londoners in the poorest part of our city - who normally do not get the opportunities, what I call underserved communities - who get the assistance to get the skills for the jobs of tomorrow. It is really important we do not leave them behind.

Joanne McCartney: Thank you. I will - and I am sure all Assembly Members will - be advertising those opportunities to our young people.
AssemblyMemberDuvall has already asked you about the Kickstart scheme, which has been a little slow in getting started. But can I ask what other long-term assistance the Government needs to provide to support our young people and what other schemes could be devolved to the GLA? Being closer to our local communities, we can often do things better.

Sadiq Khan: Hopefully, Londoners have started to see the difference that us being in charge of adult education is starting to make. Look at how quick we were to move towards giving free training for those on the minimum wage to get a living wage. Look at our speed in relation to making sure Londoners, for whom English is not their first language, were given assistance. Look at the speed at which we announced the new academies, green, digital, creative, health and social care, as well as construction. If the Government were to devolve 16 to 19 to us, that would be a real game-changer because if we can get these Londoners early we can utilise them.

Joanne McCartney: Thank you. Thank you, Chair.

Delivering Manifesto Commitments and the GLA Budget

Len Duvall: What are your key priorities for the next three years?

Sadiq Khan: As I said in my opening statement, I am deeply humbled by the trust that has been placed in me to continue leading the greatest city on earth. There is nothing I take more seriously than my commitment to Londoners and I have been determined to deliver them from day one of this second term, just like when I was first elected five years ago.
In my second term as Mayor, I promise to stand up for London during these tough times and to deliver the changes our city needs. This means getting London’s economy firing on all cylinders again, protecting and creating the higher-quality jobs Londoners deserve, and banging the drum for our city, both at home and around the world, to attract the jobs, business and investment we need.
Our recovery from this pandemic is too important to let politics get in the way, so I am reaching out to the Government so that we can work constructively together for the sake of London and the whole country. London is the engine of the UK’s economy and we stand ready to play our part in a national recovery that benefits everyone. Rather than pitting parts of our country against one another, let us level up London and every other town, city and region in the UK.
I also promise to continue working day and night to tackle the longstanding issues that matter most to Londoners: tackling violence, making London safer, building more affordable homes, supporting young Londoners, and tackling the twin challenges of air pollution and climate change. In everything I do as Mayor, you will see my commitment to creating a fairer, more equal and more just city for all Londoners. These are the challenges ahead as we work to get the city back on its feet, but I am confident that we can harness the spirit that got us through the pandemic to reopen, rebuild and reignite our amazing city, putting the dark days of the past year behind us.

Len Duvall: In that spirit of reaching out to the Government, could I just highlight one particular scheme, the Kickstart scheme, aimed at 18 to 24-year-olds? Of course, this is a very important scheme and the Government is right to prioritise that, but there are problems with it. There are problems with the Government reaching its targets. All the private-sector people that I talk to in my constituency are saying it is not working for them.
Will you use your office and influence to bring the partners of London together to speak to the Government, to see if there are some changes and tweaks to the scheme that can benefit everyone, and make it easier and more accessible for those who need that support to employ others? Immediately, we have some time here, it looks like, for the economy. Your recent release says where it is going at the moment. It is about using this time properly to get schemes like this to work properly not just for London, but for the country.

Sadiq Khan: Yes, spot on. The Kickstart scheme is a good scheme. The theory is great. We had one similar in 2008, 2009 and 2010. It has had a mixed response. I hope the Government will be flexible enough to adapt it to make sure it meets the aspirations of businesses. Businesses want to invest in young people and they want to play their role, but it is not quite working as the Government intended. We are happy to work with them. We have a huge amount of expertise. We also speak to many businesses - small, medium and large - that could really add input to this.
The other part of the equation is the Apprenticeship Levy. It is not quite working as the Government intended. Again, it is a great idea and we think can help. We are reaching out to the Government and the Government is, hopefully, more receptive now there are no elections forthcoming and we can park party politics and work together.

Len Duvall: Thank you. Do you want to comment on what the economic situation looks like over the next three-year period? The Government is indicating that it is probably at the end of two to three years when we might come under pressure. Do you concur with that?

Sadiq Khan: Apparently it is unwise to listen to forecasts from economists. History tells us that sometimes they get it wrong. The forecast we have so far is optimistic for a rapid recovery in the next couple of years. The two big concerns are when the furlough scheme ends in September [2021] - particularly for some sectors that rely upon footfall like non-essential retail, culture and hospitality, leisure and tourism - and, secondly, what happens in the medium to long term. We still have not seen the consequences of Brexit for professional services. There is no deal, basically, and we are nervous about that. We are a global city that relies upon international travel. This year will be better than we expected; the real concern is for 2023 and 2024.

Facebook’s end to end encryption

Tony Devenish: Do you agree with Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu that Facebook’s end to end encryption will cost lives (The Times, 8th May)? If so, what are you doing to persuade the social media giants to behave responsibly?

Sadiq Khan: The National Crime Agency is clear that if social media companies apply end-to-end encryption without careful consideration, children will undoubtedly be at risk and some of what offenders say and do will be beyond the reach of both law enforcement and the tech companies themselves. In fact, last week the head of MI5 also voiced his concerns about this issue.
While I understand the importance of protecting individual privacy and personal cybersecurity, experts are clear that end-to-end encryption can allow criminals an unacceptably high level of protection from law enforcement. Tech companies have a responsibility to ensure their services are not used for illegal purposes and I urge the sector to work with the Government and law enforcement to find solutions to this issue. I was pleased to see the Government’s Online Safety bill introduced for Parliamentary scrutiny. I fully support stronger regulation of tech companies through a statutory duty of care to their users. I have been vocal about the role of the Internet in facilitating crime and spreading violent messages for many years and I have taken direct action to mitigate these harms.
My Countering Violent Extremism programme teamed up with Google.org to deliver the £800,000 shared endeavour fund for London’s first ever grant fund for civil society projects that counter extremism and radicalisation. Many of the projects this delivered to thousands of Londoners last year raised awareness and built resilience to online harms. Through my Civic Innovation Challenge, I have partnered with the police and Raven Science to create and pilot the iREPORTit app, a new anonymous public referral tool for online terrorist content. Through this pilot, the app has increased referrals to the police by 15%.
I do not underestimate the importance of privacy and strong cybersecurity, but we know online platforms are being exploited to plan crimes and spread harm. These challenges require whole-of-society solutions and I will continue to play my role. But tech companies must do their bit for public safety by ensuring their platforms hinder criminals and protect vulnerable people.

Tony Devenish: Thank you, Mr Mayor. You are now a second-term Mayor, a convening Mayor. Could you pump up the volume on that convening please, MrMayor? How about a summit to get the people who are responsible for these large organisations to do what they must do?

Sadiq Khan: The good news is the Government is already doing a lot of this. When [The Rt Hon] SajidJavid [MP] was the Home Secretary, he went to Silicon Valley doing exactly what you want me to do. [The Rt Hon] PritiPatel [MP, Home Secretary] has built on that work. I am more than happy to amplify that work, work with the Government, but just to reassure you, roles are reversed where I am praising the Government, but the Government is doing a lot on this. We want to work with the Government on this. We do our own engagement and we pump up the volume our own way. We do not have the power the Government has, but I will carry on doing my bit and working closely with the Government. I can reassure you there is no danger of me reducing the sound of the volume.

Tony Devenish: Did you read the article in The Times that Mr[Neil]Basu [QPM, Assistant Commissioner, MPS] wrote? He wrote on a number of particular pertinent issues. The other thing he said was he advocated for events saying he continues to battle the toxic perception and asks where the senior leaders are coming out about their safeguarding responsibilities. Did you agree with that as well?

Sadiq Khan: Yes, Neil and I readily discuss this. Prevent is the only show in town and that is why it is really important. It is not perfect, but we have to make sure that we stop young people in particular, who may be vulnerable, being ‘brainwashed’ by either charismatic orators or by others who are brainwashing them. By the way, we are seeing this on the extreme right as well, about vulnerable young Londoners being brainwashed. Prevent is not perfect but it does a good job in addressing the issue of extremism and violent crime and we will continue working closely with the police. The way to think about it is as a safeguarding issue. If you think about it as a safeguarding issue, would you not step in if you saw a young person being groomed by a sexual gang? That is the way to think about it. We have to do a lot more to get the communities confident in this. I do not want to be flippant and say ‘rebranding’, but whether it is having examples of successful Prevent interventions or others, but NeilBasu is spot on in relation to the importance of this.

Tony Devenish: Will we be seeing more concrete actions from you, do you believe, with the new Police and Crime Plan?

Sadiq Khan: In my answer to the question you asked, Tony, I did talk about some of the work we are doing around countering violent extremism. World-leading stuff by the way. The app has been really welcomed by the police because you have seen more people report things anonymously. We are also doing really good work with - I mentioned - Google.org. The point is they should be able to spot some of this stuff taking place online. We were particularly concerned during the COVID lockdown where you were seeing a reduction in physical activity but an increase in online activity. Therefore it is a big challenge for us - and you know this as well as I do - we are a global city that is a target for terrorists and extremists. We have to be resilient and vigilant at all times.

Tony Devenish: Thank you, Chair.

Economic recovery and inequality

Krupesh Hirani: How will you work to redress inequality in London as you support London’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic?

Sadiq Khan: Can I say how lovely it is to see you sitting around this Assembly as an Assembly Member. I note that NavinShah [former Assembly Member] is in the house. I am not sure that is a good or bad thing for you, Krupesh, but, yes, good to see NavinShah in City Hall as well.
The pandemic has affected all Londoners. But far from being a great leveller, it has disproportionately exposed and exacerbated existing structural inequalities. The London Recovery Board has made a clear commitment that our recovery should narrow social, economic and health inequalities and that this commitment should be woven throughout the whole programme. Each of the nine missions will contribute to this goal.
I have targeted the £330million AEB towards Londoners hardest hit by the pandemic, supporting them to get back into good work. We are working with London’s Anchor Institutions to take a leading role in helping London’s employers build back better and address inequalities in the labour market. But with the cliff edge of the end of the Government’s support coming, we will have to work together to avoid a further crisis for jobs and skills across London, which would again threaten to hit the worst-off hardest.
A fair economic recovery depends on collaboration with London boroughs as partners in London’s recovery. Together, we are addressing our shared challenges and inequalities at every level of local government and with other partners across the city. We also want to put politics aside and work with national Government to really drive forward London’s recovery, which we know is crucial for the recovery of our whole nation.

Krupesh Hirani: Thank you. Congratulations on your re-election as well and also paying tribute to my predecessor, NavinShah, in the public gallery.
We have seen food bank usage increase during this pandemic and in the height of it you stepped in to support food banks across London when they were running short on supplies. I thank you for taking the time a few weeks ago to visit London Community Kitchen in Harrow to see first-hand the work that they are doing to support people in Brent and Harrow. How will you work towards ensuring that no Londoner goes hungry in your new Mayoral term?

Sadiq Khan: Can I just say, it was inspiring and heart-breaking to visit the London Community Kitchen in Harrow with you and with Navin as well and with GarethThomas [Senior Information Officer, Homeless Link] and the leader of Harrow Council, [Councillor] Graham [Henson]. You had brilliant Londoners doing brilliant work helping those who need support. You think, how is it possible in the fifth or sixth richest city in the world that we rely upon food banks? What was heart-breaking was the numbers of people in work they were helping. People who were doing a hard day’s work, often two jobs, were relying upon food banks. You mentioned London Community Kitchen, but there are many others across London, Felix is another one doing great work. That cannot be right. Of course we will carry on helping address the issue of food insecurity, working with food aid partners. You will be aware of the financial support we have given to the London Community Response Fund.
We are going to deal with what is at the core of this, that we need to have better-paid good jobs in our city. The idea behind the investment around adult education is to give Londoners the skills for the future-proof jobs created in our city. It is really important we give them well-paid, high-skilled jobs going forward.

Krupesh Hirani: Also within the issue of inequalities is the issue of child poverty. You may have seen this week, piloted by the End Child Poverty Coalition last week, a shocking 38% of children live in poverty in the capital. While the levels of power are in Government’s hands, such as putting an end to some of the punitive welfare reforms that they have put in place, what action can you take in your second term to tackle this issue, which the pandemic will have worsened?

Sadiq Khan: Yes, it is a big issue. The child poverty situation is of serious concern in our city. The key thing we have to do is try to reduce the cost of living in London. We can reduce the cost of living in a number of ways. Firstly, I am determined to keep free travel for under-18s. You will be aware of the attempt to remove this over the last few months. If you are the parent of two, three or four children going to two, three or four schools, you know the cost of travel.
The second thing is to reduce the cost of living. It is really important that we try to avoid a situation where those who rent privately have big increases in their rents when we come out of lockdown, we need more genuinely affordable homes in our city.
The third big issue we have to deal with is to make sure that people get a decent pay for doing a hard day’s work. It is really important we make sure we address that.
You will be aware the massive priority made in new employers paying the London living wage. I want London to be a living wage city. That is the aspiration. We are going to work our socks off over the next three years to make London a living wage city.

Krupesh Hirani: Thank you.

Congestion Charge

Tony Devenish: In December 2020 your Deputy Mayor for Transport told the Budget and Performance Committee that “in the TfL budget the planning assumption… is that the temporary changes to the Congestion Charge would remain in place for the whole of the financial year 2021/22.” Is that still your working assumption?

The Mayor: Sadiq Khan (Mayor of London): Thank you, Chair. The Government required me to bring forward proposals to change the level and scope of the Congestion Charge urgently as a condition of the first emergency tier for funding agreement in May [2020] when Government support was urgently needed because of the impact of the pandemic on TfL’s finances. In October [2020] TfL’s second funding deal from the Government required us to keep in place the current temporary changes to the Congestion Charge as a continued response to the pandemic. This condition was rolled over into the two subsequent extensions to the Funding Bill. The temporary changes have been designed to discourage unnecessary car journeys and make it easier for people who need to travel in central London to do so. This supports wider, temporary changes to the transport network to enable more people to walk and cycle while public transport capacity is constrained by social distancing requirements. TfL is working faster than ever before to deliver safe, segregated cycle routes to provide more space for pedestrians and to enable the bus network to run as efficiently and smoothly as possible. TfL’s 2021/2022 budget does assume, for planning purposes only, that the temporary changes to the Congestion Charge are retained on the basis that they will still be required as an emergency response to the transport challenges arising from the pandemic and we are not currently able to predict when this will change. TfL is keeping the temporary changes under constant review, especially as we move through the Government’s roadmap for ease and restrictions. Ultimately, as I have said many times, a long-term funding deal for TfL is essential for London and for the national economy. I have been clear that I will keep fighting for what is best for Londoners in negotiations with the Government. That includes what the optimal congestion charging arrangements are to support London’s economic recovery, ensuring it is a green and sustainable one.
Tony Devenish AM: MrMayor, that is not actually what you told LBC talk radio about a week or so before the election. My highlight of the entire election campaign was when you U-turned on this policy and you said you wanted to go back to what it was before, ie five days a week on weekdays. To be clear, are you now saying that you will be pushing, as per your commitment on the LBC interview, to go back to what the Congestion Charge was before?

Sadiq Khan: I am quite clear that the reason that people are paying a £15 Congestion Charge, seven days a week, up to 10pm is because the Government attaches a condition to the funding deal of those terms. I want us to be back in charge of what the Congestion Charge should be. That autonomy means we could decide what works for our city rather than the Secretary of State, a No.10 adviser, civil servants in Whitehall or the DfT. We should be deciding what the Congestion Charge would be. You will be aware of my record; before the Government intervened, we kept it to £11.50, we kept it to the times you had before, five days a week. The record of my mayoralty is not increasing it to £15 a week, unless forced to by the Government, or seven days a week or until 10pm. Londoners want me in charge of setting the level rather than the Government.
Tony Devenish AM: So when are you going to reduce it back to what it was?

Sadiq Khan: We are currently speaking to the Government about the next funding deal. As I said in answer to previous questions, it is probably not sensible for me to give a running commentary on the deal with the Government, should we reach one. The key thing is for the Government to recognise that in the short term we all need support from the Government, particularly with the fares revenue not being anywhere near what it was before the pandemic. In the medium to long term, we will need to make sure TfL is on a sustainable financial footing. It is important for us to work together, the Government and TfL, to make sure we get a good deal for TfL, which is a good deal for London, which is then a good deal for the country.
Tony Devenish AM: When you make that change - and I hope you will make the change, you did promise to on LBC - will you also reintroduce the residents discount, please?

Sadiq Khan: Some of these things we are discussing with the Government. If you have any influence over either [The Rt Hon] GrantShapps [MP, Secretary of State for Transport], the Government, the No. 10 adviser, even the Prime Minister, now is the time to use it.
Tony Devenish AM: Well, you are the Mayor of London, MrMayor, and as you have a mandate, I am hoping you will do what you said a week or so before the election because LBC listeners will be listening. I will leave it there, Chair.

Delivering London’s Transport Strategy

Siân Berry: Are you confident you can find the funding to deliver your Transport Strategy?

Sadiq Khan: It is a bit difficult. My Transport Strategy remains the right long-term approach to developing the transport network in London over the next two decades. It has the support of Londoners and it is now more important than ever that we work to achieve its aim.
The pandemic has only served to highlight the importance of helping Londoners to travel healthily, sustainably and efficiently on foot, by cycle and by using public transport. It has also brought into sharper focus the need to tackle the unacceptable levels of vehicle emissions and congestion caused by having too many cars on the road.
That is why I am determined to press ahead with implementing my Transport Strategy, including through the London Recovery Programme and by fulfilling the commitments I made in my manifesto. I am excited about what we can achieve over the next three years. This includes improvements to streets to enable more journeys and better access to our high streets by foot, bike and bus, and major rail improvements that will open to passengers this year and next, like the Elizabeth line, the Northern line extension and the Barking Riverside extension to the Overground network.
However, it is clear that proper financial support from the Government for TfL will be absolutely vital to achieving these aims, and to support London and the UK’s wider economic recovery. TfL’s Financial Sustainability Plan shows the need not only for immediate COVID-related financial support, but also for Government investment each year beyond 2023. This is essential for TfL to continue to operate a world-class public transport system, help to reduce carbon emissions, improve air quality, tackle obesity, improve accessibility, build new homes and support the capital’s economy. That is why I am working so hard to make the case to the Government that sustainable long-term funding for TfL will be money well spent.
On 18May [2021] it was agreed to extend TfL’s previous funding agreement to tomorrow, 28May, to allow for discussions to conclude.

Siân Berry: Thank you very much, MrMayor. First of all, congratulations on being re-elected. I voted for you - as a second preference - and I know that contributed in the final round. I look forward to discussing some of the ideas from my manifesto with you so that you can make some use of them.
Today I was planning to discuss the terms of the expected new deal for TfL, particularly walking and cycling funding, but you do not have a deal yet. Instead, I would like to ask about other sources of revenue and what has been said about them, then what our options are.
In January [2021] TfL sent to the Government its Financial Sustainability Plan on time, but on Friday at the TfL Programmes and Investment Committee, the Commissioner [of TfL] said that the Government had provided no response to it, just an acknowledgement of receipt. Can I just confirm that that is still the case today?

Sadiq Khan: Firstly, apologies to the other two parties, but I also gave my second preference to Siân and to the Greens, which explains your tally for so many second preferences.

Siân Berry: Thanks very much.

Sadiq Khan: So far we have received no formal response or any response to the Plan we submitted by the deadline.

Siân Berry: That really worries me. We have an extension until tomorrow, but we still have no response and you cannot tell me any more about that, presumably. I will move on to my next question.
In the Financial Sustainability Plan, a boundary charge was suggested as an interim step. Given discussions that have taken place over recent months, we kind of all agree that a single day-long charge for coming into London from outside is a bit of a blunt instrument, and it certainly looks like the Government does not support a boundary charge, either. If nobody wants a charge like that, then it is the Government that needs to tide us over until we can develop something fairer.
Do you agree? Has the Government conceded that in your discussions so far?

Sadiq Khan: It is probably not sensible to give a running commentary on negotiations with the Government, but it is a big issue. Either we have to massively reduce expenditure or find other ways to raise revenues. Extending the Congestion Charge to the North Circular and the South Circular is not on, either. It is navigating our way through the short-term financial challenges because we are not going to get to pre-pandemic levels for some time. To give you an idea of where we are, the Tube numbers yesterday were at about 40% of what they were pre-pandemic and bus numbers at around 61%. There is a big gap between what we have and what we need to run TfL. We have to keep running a full service, otherwise people will not come back. It is a challenge.

Siân Berry: Finally, your trips to the North have been really interesting to see. Are you lobbying for a package deal of similar medium-term arrangements for London and other cities as a kind of combination with other mayors? It does look a bit like you are doing that.

Sadiq Khan: One of the interesting things is what a hotchpotch arrangement there is between different regions and central Government. We are hoping that the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) provides an opportunity to put us all in the same place. One of the things we did this week - there are 10 of us metro mayors across the country now - was to get together to discuss what we will be doing together. That includes “levying up”; it includes recovery; it includes zero carbon. It also includes conversations around the CSR and what bids we put in as a group as well as what we put in as individual mayors.

Siân Berry: Excellent, thank you very much. I very much support that. It is an approach I have been asking for for a while.

Jobs, jobs, jobs

Marina Ahmad: Your campaign slogan was “jobs, jobs, jobs”. Now that you have won a successful second term as Mayor of London, how you will support jobs in the capital over the next three years?

Sadiq Khan: Can I congratulate you on your election? It was good to campaign with your family on election day as well. I am sure they are really proud of your achievement.
More than 300,000 Londoners have lost their jobs during the pandemic and, as Mayor, I will do everything I can to help the whole city recover. I am helping to protect existing jobs, support businesses to create new ones and help Londoners who have lost their jobs get back to work.
We have already introduced changes to the dedicated Adult Education Budget (AEB), which allows 20,000 Londoners earning below the London Living Wage to access training that they otherwise would have had to pay for. We will be launching a £32million Good Work for All Fund to deliver training, education and employability support to help Londoners enter good jobs in London’s key sectors. I will continue to tailor London’s annual £330million AEB to support Londoners hardest hit by the pandemic into good work. To help achieve this, we will establish skills academies that connect Londoners to vital jobs in key sectors, including the green economy, culture and creative, health, hospitality and digital. Our new Let’s Do London campaign will also play a critical role in protecting jobs and supporting the culture and hospitality sectors. This year, further investment from the AEB will go towards supporting London’s skills needs as the economy reopens.
We are working closely with London government partners, national agencies and academic institutions across London to promote good work and to improve partnership working so that Londoners can better access jobs and training opportunities. I will also work with others to protect and create jobs wherever I can. This includes influencing the business environment through business support, resilience grants and digital transition initiatives, as well as cultivating supply chain opportunities in planning, construction and urban development. Our £50million Green New Deal will help to create thousands of new green jobs, and a new package of infrastructure works worth up to £1.5billion recently announced by my London Infrastructure Group will help to kickstart the economy.

Marina Ahmad: Thank you, MrMayor. May I also offer my congratulations on your election to your second term? It was great to see you on election day.
London is the region with the most staff on furlough. Furlough covers up to 80% of an employee’s salary for the hours that they cannot work. As you know, the furlough scheme is going to start to end in June [2021], effectively next week. What can the Government do to support Londoners at risk of unemployment as their furlough scheme comes to an end?

Sadiq Khan: Thank you for your question. There are a couple of things that worry me in particular in relation to the Government support. Firstly, it is good. We persuaded the Government to extend the support in relation to business rates, value-added tax (VAT) relief and the furlough scheme. My concern is that when you look at the numbers of people furloughed, they tend to be disproportionately in poorer boroughs and deprived communities across London. If there is no support when furlough ends, if it is a cliff-edge fall, those furloughed Londoners may become redundant and unemployed.
A number of things need to happen. Firstly, in those sectors where there will not be a quick recovery - retail, culture and hospitality - the furlough scheme should be extended for a bit longer so there is not a cliff-edge fall. Secondly, the Government should be providing a national jobs guarantee so that those who lose their jobs can get back into work as soon as possible. Thirdly, we need to make sure that we protect the jobs we have. That is why we have Let’s Do London. So far we have no support from the Government. We have £7million; £6million from us and £1million from businesses. If we had support from the Government, we could really ensure we can protect those jobs to avoid the unemployment that you are worried about.

Marina Ahmad: Thank you. When creating jobs, it is important to create good jobs with good working conditions and people being paid at least the London Living Wage. Your manifesto commitment was to support workers’ rights, which are particularly important now, as we do not have the protections of the European Union (EU) and [we have] a Government that is sometimes described as hostile to workers’ rights. How will you work to protect workers’ rights this term?

Sadiq Khan: Firstly, I am of the view that it is not me who creates the jobs. I try to create an environment where jobs are created by the private sector and others. We have to work with the private sector to have an environment that is conducive not only to job creation, but to good job creation.
The announcement over the last 24 hours of Uber recognising the GMB trade union is a good example of employers and workers working together. I genuinely believe that when employers work with their employees through a trade union, it leads to greater productivity as well as better standards of work. We cannot have situation where London is good for business but not good for workers. It is possible to have London be good for workers and business.
What I hope to do over the next three years is to build on the progress of the first five years: the Good Work Standard; massively increasing the number of employers paying the London Living Wage; massively improving the conditions of the workplace through the good works of trade unions; and also banging the drum for investment in relation to London across Europe and around the world, whether it is jobs, investment or tourism.

Marina Ahmad: Thank you, MrMayor.

The Green New Deal and Green New Jobs

Len Duvall: With predictions that the wind-down of the furlough scheme from July will impact on employment levels across London, how quickly can you upsize London’s green economy to deliver on your manifesto promise of new green jobs that are diverse, sustainable, meaningful and well paid?

Sadiq Khan: My Green New Deal aims to double the size of London’s green economy by 2030 through retrofitting buildings, renewable energy, electric vehicle charging and urban greening. London’s green sector has a strong track record of economic growth, doubling in size over the last decade, creating 150,000 jobs. Increasing levels of investment and ambition, both in London and nationally, will create conditions for all businesses to grow back stronger, and the green sector will be at the heart of this. Analysis from IPPR estimates that investing in a green recovery could create 1.6million green jobs in the UK over 10years. In London, meeting our retrofit challenge alone could support an estimated 140,000 jobs. I am redoubling efforts to support investment in London’s environment. My Green New Deal Fund is already investing £10million in programmes that support around 1,000 green jobs, while tackling the climate emergency and inequalities. I have set aside £20million both this year and next year to support the Green New Deal. One of New Skills Academies will focus specifically on green jobs. Together we can achieve even more. As we approach COP26, I want to work with the Government to increase the level of ambition at the national level, tackling the climate emergency while supporting jobs on a just transition.

Len Duvall: Thank you, MrMayor. We get the idea of a Green New Deal where there are jobs at every level and every sector of the economy. We get that. In terms of the green infrastructure and some of the thinking around that, should we not be persuading our colleagues in local government to think about a single waste authority, in terms of trying to restructure some of the issues around recycling and part of delivering some extra jobs that may come of it? I was taken very much by the intervention of Assembly Member Best earlier on, but I always remember it was taken by a waste authority, who was the first proposer of that incinerator. Is there some better thinking that we can get around some of these recycling schemes that have a better production around those issues, more economic as well as creating jobs?

Sadiq Khan: The short answer is yes. The more diplomatic answer is, you know, as someone who was a councillor and a former leader, it is a lot of effort to get 32 boroughs in the same place. You will be aware that we need to be careful that we do not take powers away from councillors. It is a challenge that we should look towards doing because you are spot on. If we are going to properly address the issue of increasing recycling, reducing incinerator use, address the issue of climate change and air quality, the current furniture does not work in relation to local government. It is not me wanting to have a bigger slice of their pie.

Len Duvall: I would be more than happy if our colleagues in local government took it on board themselves and ran it themselves and work in partnership with ourselves. I would not want to do a power grab around that. There has to be a debate along those lines, around some of that green infrastructure, where they need to take those decisions.

Sadiq Khan: Yes.

Len Duvall: There will be other issues where we can come to help and support. We can influence, we do not need to run it ourselves as a single waste authority, but they need to take the steps if they are serious about a Green New Deal. It is a positive step forward about that. I remember colleagues of the Assembly, if I can mention BrianColeman [former Assembly Member] many years ago and he was totally against this and then came round to supporting it, partly because of the arguments of what it meant at that particular time. It is now an imperative, the issues like that that need to be addressed. We have the time to do it. It very much goes along with the colleague of working towards the next nine years. It seems essential in terms of our economic recovery that we start to raise these debates.

Sadiq Khan: There is some good news, Len, you are getting geographical partnerships within councils in some parts of London. You are getting some of this happening almost by osmosis, rather than by somebody saying, “You know what, shouldn’t we just …” I am more than happy to have the discussion. What I would not want is a bun fight.

Len Duvall: I agree. You do not have time for that. We need to just focus on the evidence and see where people are going. Could I just move on very quickly to training needs that we have identified around London’s green economy? London has always been a training centre at different levels. Colleges and universities that are doing the research and are training the next generation of people to take some of these jobs on. Is that an ambition of yours that London should be part of that centre and should that be shared by the Government; then take it nationally across all the university sectors and training providers at different levels? Where does that fit in terms of some of that? I have read some of the Green New Deal. I get some of it, but are you committed to that? Is that where you want to take it and with those partners? I know you are not in control of the sector completely. We have one aspect of where we can seriously influence it, but where are we going to try and drag the others into this debate of where we should be, particularly about where London should position that university sector and that other training providers sector?

Sadiq Khan: Absolutely that is our ambition. It has to be our ambition. In the last five years our reputation around the world has grown hugely in this area. The number of green jobs in the small, medium and big companies is going in the right direction and people are excited to start a business in London or expand it and also to provide funding. The number of Asian investors who want to come here is fantastic. We are also working with the private sector around finance, around green infrastructure. The key thing though is to make sure that Londoners benefit from the jobs and monies that have been generated here. That is why the academies work is so important. If we are honest, there have been examples in the past where we have been world leaders in sectors where Londoners have not benefitted from the fruits of that. This is a really good opportunity for us to plan now to make sure we have the expertise for the jobs going forward. Retrofitting is the game-changer for reducing carbon emissions and it creates jobs as well, well paid jobs, going forward. That is one part of the equation. What about carbon capture? What about making sure that we can have things like fintech going forward? There are so many things we can be doing. The good news is a lot of new starts in London are already doing this and we think we can support them, not just be to be an incubator, but to be an accelerator and export those skills overseas. Our future over the next century has got to be in future-proof jobs and green is one of them.

Manifesto Promises to Black Cab Drivers

Keith Prince: In your 2016 manifesto you promised “special privileges built in… for those who become a licensed London taxi driver.” In your 2021 manifesto your offer to black cab drivers read: “Black cabs and private hire vehicles continue to play an important role in London’s transport offer, and I know how difficult the last 12 months have been for the sector. I will work with them while expecting the highest safety and environmental standards.” Why was your more recent offer such a downgrade in comparison to your 2016 pledge?

Sadiq Khan: My manifesto set out my determination to continue to work with both the black cab trade and the private hire industry for the good of London. I know my Deputy Mayor for Transport and the TfL Commissioner will be meeting again with representatives from the trade soon, demonstrating the importance we place on these relationships. Taxis have a proud history in London. My Transport Strategy recognises the important role they continue to play in London, providing an accessible service for Londoners and visitors and the special privileges for taxis that I referred to in the 2016 manifesto remain in place.
Since 2016, I have led TfL to support taxi drivers including through providing £30million to support members of the taxi trade to delicence older, more polluting vehicles and support the uptake of greener, zero-emission taxis, more than any previous Mayor. Creating more than 150 additional taxi ranks, more than any previous Mayor. Providing access to most bus lanes, more than any previous Mayor. Establishing a taxi-dedicated rapid charge point and supporting plug-in taxi grants, more than any previous Mayor.
I know that many taxi drivers and their families have been personally affected by the pandemic and tragically some drivers have lost their lives. My thoughts remain with their families and friends. I would like to thank all drivers for their tremendous efforts in supporting London’s communities through the pandemic. I have heard stories of drivers offering free trips to our NHS staff, taking vulnerable Londoners to vaccination sites, delivering groceries and medication and much more. The pandemic has been tough on the industry and we have done what we can to support them throughout.
TfL has met at least fortnightly with industry representatives to understand the challenges they face and identify ways to help. TfL has handed out free facemasks to drivers and created a video to reassure the public that taxis can be safely used. They have licensed vehicles for a further period of six months when vehicle inspections were not available. They have sought and relayed advice from the London Scientific Advisory Cell on the safe operation of services.
I agree, the industry needs more direct financial support and I have written to the Chancellor to draw his attention to the plight of drivers in the capital, in particular to ensure they can access existing income support programmes. My support for the industry has in no way declined and I see taxis playing a pivotal role in London’s recovery.

Keith Prince: Thank you, Mr Mayor. Was it an oversight then not to put that in your manifesto?

Sadiq Khan: Sorry, not to put what?

Keith Prince: The fact that they would have special privileges and that you will maintain those special privileges?

Sadiq Khan: I already answered that. I can repeat it again if you did not hear me.

Keith Prince: No, I am just asking you was it an oversight then?

Sadiq Khan: No, it was not, shall I read back what I said?

Keith Prince: No, no, I heard exactly what you said.

Sadiq Khan: Are you sure? I do not mind.

Keith Prince: No, I know you do not, but I do. You said that you are doing all you can to help the trade and I accept that you are doing some things to help the trade. But some of the changes you have made have been quite onerous on the trade, especially the older drivers and those with the older taxis.
Would you, in light of the COVID pandemic and the damage that has done to the trade, would you in light of that consider reversing your rule to reduce the older taxis’ lifespan to 12 years? Would you give that some consideration, MrMayor? It will not make a lot of difference and it would make a big difference to those people who have been struggling over the last year and a bit. Equally, you said you have given more access to bus lanes, but in fact you have cut down some of the routes that they traditionally use, much to the detriment of disabled people. Would you again consider making it a rule that taxis go where buses go?

Sadiq Khan: Let me deal with the number of points you raise in your question. It is a fact that, unless we address the issue of NOx emissions coming from taxis, we are not going to reduce the NOx emission levels that we are required to do by law. By me giving greater financial support to the taxis to delicence, but also to have the cleaner zero-emissions capable vehicles - record sums never given before - we would be able to meet the 2025 legal requirements to reduce NOx emissions from taxis by 65% compared to the 2013 levels. To do as you suggest would mean one health crisis being replaced by another one, which we cannot afford to do. We are going to continue our generous support to the taxi sector.
In relation to the bus lanes, even you have to accept us allowing taxis to use bus lanes that are now 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is a big boon for taxis because they can use these bus lanes when they otherwise would not be able to do so. Almost 100% of bus lanes in London can be used by taxis, which means they can accelerate through congestion they would otherwise have and avoid challenges they would otherwise have.
Even you would have to accept - and I can repeat it again if you did not hear me - the progress made in the last five years with some of the changes we have made to support taxis and the support we are giving to the taxi industry. The rapid charging points reserved for taxis are almost 100 now. We have more rapid charging points than any other city in Western Europe. That being said, I accept fully the challenges they face. In the years before I became Mayor, the number of private hire vehicles (PHV) went up from 60,000 to 120,000. I appreciate the challenge that has brought for them. I appreciate those PHV drivers do not do ‘the knowledge’ like black cab drivers do. So we have done what we can within the resources that we have to support the black cab trade.

Keith Prince: The black cab trade would not share your confidence in that you have done what you can, I regret to say. You just said that taxis have access to 100% of bus lanes.
Sadiq Khan (Mayor of London): I said almost.

Keith Prince: Almost, so that is not 100%. That is part of the problem, some of the very strategic routes that they need to use to get disabled people to hospitals are now blocked to them. That is something I would urge you, MrMayor, to think again on, especially seeing as you lost a court case on that very point.
In relation to charging points, yes, you have made some progress, although it is slow. Again, there are issues with PHVs sitting on those charging points. Can you give some assurance that there will be better enforcement of that?

Sadiq Khan: Chair, it would help me if the Member could list, other than Bishopsgate, all the streets-based schemes that black cabs cannot use.

Keith Prince: I cannot list them now, but I will write to you, MrMayor. I will write to you--

Sadiq Khan: I thought there were loads. There were dozens, I thought.

Keith Prince: If you can also list for me the charging points that are not being blocked.

Sadiq Khan: Let us accept then, after this exchange, that the only streets-based scheme they cannot use is Bishopsgate, a short length of Bishopsgate. Do we agree on that?

Keith Prince: No. That results in a 30-minute detour for those black cab drivers with disabled people going from Liverpool Street to St Thomas’ Hospital. That is not being considerate, MrMayor. If it is only one, why can you not change it? Why do you have to insist on having this one? Is this some kind of virtue signalling for you? What is it?

Sadiq Khan: We have agreed now, there are hundreds of streets-based schemes in our city and part of one, part of one, cannot be used by black cabs? We have agreed that now?

Keith Prince: No, no, we have not actually, because we can start talking about low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), if you like. We can talk about the ones in Redbridge. We can talk about the ones in Lewisham. We can talk about the ones in other boroughs where access to cabs has now been denied. Again, disabled people are being unfairly disadvantaged by having those.

Sadiq Khan: Could I just check, Chair, because it is really important for this discussion. Is the assertion from the Member that the Mayor should be in charge of borough roads?

Keith Prince: No, the assertion from the Member, MrMayor, is that you finance and the GLA authorises and finances the LTNs and you run the bus lanes.

Sadiq Khan: Chair, that is not correct, is it?

Keith Prince: We are talking about access for cabs, which is in your remit.

Andrew Boff: Could I just remind the Mayor it is Mayor’s Question Time? It is not for you to ask questions of Members. It is for Members to ask questions of you. Carry on.

Sadiq Khan: I would have hoped, Chair, you would want to correct an assertion that was false.

Keith Prince: MrMayor, all I am going to say is that I wanted to give you the opportunity, because we had a very nice opening - perhaps I did not and I should have, congratulated you on your re-election, as many have done, MrMayor - to try and help a trade that is in desperate measures at the moment. They have not been able to work. They still cannot work, a lot of them. There is not the footfall in central London which they are reliant on. I just wanted to give you the opportunity, MrMayor, to make a few minor adjustments so that you could help the trade. Clearly you do not want to do that. I am going to leave it at that. Thank you.

Londoners’ safety

Shaun Bailey: What are you doing to ensure Londoners’ safety?

Sadiq Khan: The safety of Londoners will always be a top priority for me as Mayor. I am clear, as I start my second term, that I am absolutely determined to drive down violent crime across our city. The work happening to tackle violence is one example of the scale of the effort I have led to make London safer. Despite opposition by some of the Assembly, I have made the tough decisions year after year to increase City Hall funding to the police to a record level. As a direct result, there are now 1,300 more officers on our streets than would otherwise have been the case. City Hall funding has helped to create the Metropolitan Police Service Violent Crime Taskforce and Violence Suppression Units, which are hard at work pursuing dangerous individuals and getting deadly weapons off the streets.
Violent crime across London had started to go down before the pandemic hit and has continued to reduce. But we know levels of violence are still too high, and too many families are losing their loved ones. The Commissioner and I are determined to do everything we can to sustain the reductions in violence we have seen over the last year and drive it down still further. I am also determined to be tough on the underlying causes of crime. That is why I have set up England’s first VRU and why 110,000 young Londoners have benefited from projects funded through the Young Londoners Fund. I have also put more funding into specialist services supporting highly vulnerable young people caught up in crime, such as the pioneering County Lines Rescue and Response Service and the London Gang Exit Service.
I will continue with the same determination in all aspects of keeping our city safe, including bringing forward an updated Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy and refreshing Lord [Toby] Harris’s [Chair of the National Preparedness Commission] review into London’s preparedness for a major terrorist incident. Work is now underway on my new Police and Crime Plan, which will set out my agenda for the safety of London over the next three years. I look forward to working with the Assembly and the Government to achieve our shared goal of a safer London.

Shaun Bailey: Good morning, MrMayor, thank you for your answer and congratulations on your
re-election. You may remember some years ago that police in riot gear were dispatched to Hyde Park to break up what had been billed as a water fight and a free party, and it descended into chaos leading to a police officer and two members of the public being stabbed. As we emerge from lockdown, I am speaking to lots of young Londoners now who are receiving messages about big gatherings, getting together, wanting to exercise newfound freedoms that we are all hoping will happen soon. What specific work is being done to address these gatherings to make sure that they do not descend into violence; that London does not have a lot of - in some cases - illegal gatherings that then end up in violence?

Sadiq Khan: Thank you for your question. I mentioned in the answer to a previous question the work being undertaken to address the concerns the Commissioner and I share about an increase in violent crime as lockdown measures are eased. Of course, it is perfectly understandable for young people to want to meet up, there is a pent-up frustration of being basically locked away for the last 14 or 15 months, but it has to be lawful and safe. The police are alert to safe, good, healthy physical activity in Hyde Park and other places and particularly criminality and antisocial behaviour. There is planning undertaken for Operation Summer Nights in relation to address the concerns you have. I think it may have been summer 2017, the Hyde Park incident you referred to, or 2018. But you are right, it was really alarming for many other users of the park as well as the police and others there.
Separately, the Violence Suppression Unit that has been working since the lockdown first began now covers all of London. We are talking about more than 600 officers. I have been out and about with some of them; I think you have as well. They are officers based in their communities who know, not just parts of a ward where there tends to be high violence, but they know individuals. They have built up a relationship, often a friendship, to get intelligence. That intel is something we did not have before. That intel is useful. But we are mindful of the issue you raise and we obviously do not want to advertise all the things we are doing. But we are well aware of the concerns.

Shaun Bailey: Are there any conversations being had about specific events? For instance, the police have registered an objection to the We Are FSTVL, if it is to go ahead, because they believe that with very few festivals going ahead it will be a real magnet for drug gangs, for rival gangs, because they have no other outlet to sell drugs, etc. Are there specific conversations going on about events that may happen, to prevent those events, to police them in a different way? Are we looking at each individual event that we at least know of and what we can do about them?

Sadiq Khan: Yes, without disclosing too much, on a daily basis there is a look at events coming ahead. I, for example, will receive on a daily basis events that have taken place in the last
24 hours, events taking place, but on a week-by-week basis. We have mapped out the summer basically of big events.
The other thing, not linked to your question, Shaun, but relevant, is Euro 2020. I have raised it publicly so I am not giving away any issues or casting aspersions. Historically, England versus Scotland is a challenge. That is just one example. But just to reassure you, a lot of work is taking place in relation to keeping our city - helping the recovery as we come out of lockdown - but making sure everyone is kept safe.

Shaun Bailey: Over recent years, very recently, we have seen a lot of large disruptive protests in the centre of London. Often they can turn violent, we all know what has happened recently. But what is done in particular to make sure that central London - because obviously it is very attractive as you have said many times - does not become a no-go area? That we do not have protests just popping up that we are unaware of or unable to police?

Sadiq Khan: Most protests are peaceful, lawful and safe, and the police are not involved in the protests. The key thing is for those organising protests to work with the police. As you and I both know, often you can have three or four protests in the same footprint, often with different points of view that can provide an additional challenge other than our city grinding to a halt. My key message to anybody who wants to protest is to work with the police. The police will not stop lawful, peaceful, safe protest. Work with the police. There are new regulations and new laws during a lockdown that people need to be aware of. But one of the great things about living in a democracy is people have a right to protest. We are not saying do not protest. But work with the police so you do not advertently or inadvertently break the law. It is really important that we respect the rights people have but also respect the need of our city to go about its business.

Shaun Bailey: Thank you. Thank you, Chair.

Building Safety on Public Land

Hina Bokhari: What do you consider to be your responsibility to Londoners living in unsafe buildings?

Sadiq Khan: Chair, can I congratulate Hina on her election for the first time? I see your mum is in the audience. It is nice to see her. I know she is very proud. You know I knew your dad very well. He would be really proud. Congratulations.
The building safety crisis is one of the most pressing challenges facing our country and I am strongly committed to protecting Londoners affected by this. I have stood with the survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire and I have seen the impact of the crisis first-hand. Recent fires, most notably at New Providence Wharf, remind us that, nearly four years after Grenfell, too many people are still living in unsafe homes. We must not rest until everyone is safe.
I want to support Londoners on this issue in three important ways. Firstly, I am doing everything within my power to ensure buildings are as safe as possible. To this end, I have ensured new buildings in London need to meet tough fire safety standards by introducing, for the first time, new measures in the London Plan. I have also set new requirements in the Affordable Homes Programme as well as for development on Greater London Authority (GLA) land, and any projects procured on GLA land.
Secondly, I am using my convening powers to coordinate the sector in its response to the building safety crisis. For example, I have convened a task-and-finish group to improve the External Wall System 1 (EWS1) form process when leaseholders request forms for lenders certifying that the external walls of their homes are not made from combustible materials. The group will support social-sector landlords to follow best practice and improve the experience of residents who have struggled to secure EWS1 forms, leaving them unable to sell their homes and move on with their lives.
Finally, I will continue to advocate for Londoners and engage with the Government on the need for more funding to remediate unsafe buildings. As I have said repeatedly, leaseholders should not be charged to put right historic building safety defects that were not their fault, regardless of the height of their building or the type of safety defect. I am pleased the Government now accepts the principle of a developer levy, something I proposed back in December [2020]. I am committed to working closely with the Government on this and more broadly to find long-term meaningful solutions that will keep Londoners safe in their homes.

Hina Bokhari: Thank you for your answer and your very kind welcome, MrMayor. We need to agree that the Government response is far from perfect on the cladding crisis, but you can do more as the Mayor of London.
I recently met residents living in the former Athletes’ Village of the Olympic Park, where 63 of the buildings are potential firetraps. Innocent leaseholders are stuck in unsafe buildings, facing eyewatering bills. These buildings were contracted and built with public money and on public land. What will you personally do to make them safe without pushing costs on to leaseholders?

Sadiq Khan: Firstly, many of the leaseholders that you talk about have unimaginable strain on them. I have met many leaseholders over the last period.
You will be aware from the conversations you have had that these blocks in East Village are owned and managed by Delancey, Get Living and Triathlon Homes. My Deputy Mayor for Housing [and Residential Development] TomCopley and the team at City Hall speak regularly with building owners and managers to accelerate remediation. Small amounts of aluminium composite material (ACM) within the external wall system have been identified in 11 of the 66 buildings in the development. We continue to use our planning powers to speak with Delancey and Get Living, including on the issue of fire safety.

Hina Bokhari: Many of these leaseholders you have mentioned own only a share of their homes but face 100% of the fire safety costs. Many want to sell back their share to the housing association so that they can move on.
Will you give shared owners in the Olympic Park - and across London - a way out by supporting the Buy Back scheme?

Sadiq Khan: The issue is for the Government to provide the financial support that the residents need. We do not have the resources to provide the residents with the support they need. A number of these residents feel like their properties are albatrosses around their necks. For the reasons you know, it is not just because of the EWS1 that they cannot sell them. They are worried they are unsafe.
We have asked the Government to support them financially and then later on work with the developers, the owners and the managers to get the money back for the Government. The only people who can afford to support the residents is the Government. There is cross-party agreement on the Assembly for us to lobby the Government to do more.

Hina Bokhari: Excellent. Finally, over two months ago, several buildings applied for the Waking Watch Relief Fund, which is administered by the GLA under the Mayor of London, but have heard nothing back. This is unacceptable. Will you take responsibility and speed up the Waking Watch Relief Fund process right away?

Sadiq Khan: All the rules that we use are rules from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). We administer the funds from MHCLG. If there are any particular issues with delay, of course we are happy to look into those.
It is worth reminding you and colleagues that the rules are not written by us. We are, if you like, the middle third party, making sure the money is facilitated. I am more than happy, though, to look into any individual cases. Chair, I am sure that new Members will have explained how to reach my office to make sure we can expedite anything we can do.

Hina Bokhari: Thank you very much. Thank you for your answer.

Sadiq Khan: A pleasure. Good luck.

London Cancer Hub, Sutton

Neil Garratt: Would you be willing to work with me to support the major regeneration, scientific and economic opportunity at The London Cancer Hub in Sutton?

Sadiq Khan: Can I also congratulate you on your election? You have big shoes to fill. Steve [O’Connell, former Assembly Member] was a really good champion of that part of London and I hope you enjoy it as much as Steve did over many years.
In London, around 14,000 people die every year from cancer, and you could fill Wembley Stadium twice with the number of Londoners living with cancer. Many of us know someone who has or has had cancer. This is a health issue that will affect so many of us across our lifetimes, and one important way of tackling it is through the cutting-edge research happening at places like the London Cancer Hub in Sutton.
What is more, the life sciences sector is crucial to London’s economy. Life sciences clusters like the London Cancer Hub have an important role to play in supporting London’s economic recovery from this pandemic. The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the Royal Marsden [Hospital] are globally renowned for their pioneering work in cancer and they rank in the top four centres for cancer research and treatment worldwide. Much of this work takes place on the London Cancer Hub site in Sutton. In my first term, I officially opened the state-of-the-art facilities there, which house precision radiotherapy technologies that can target tumours in real time, delivering radiation more accurately and reducing side-effects.
As in so many areas of our lives, the pandemic has had a terrible impact on cancer diagnosis and care and so I welcome the Government’s ambition to make the UK a life science superpower. Combatting COVID, cancer and other diseases unites us not just across the UK but globally. London is a vital part of that effort.
As a key partner in the project, I will continue to work with the London Borough of Sutton, the ICR and others like AssemblyMemberGarratt to help realise this world-class project, which can attract the best scientists to expand and develop world-leading cancer research. The Cancer Hub will play an integral part in London’s recovery, benefiting the London Borough of Sutton as well as supporting London’s and the UK’s position as a world-renowned place of life science excellence. I look forward to continuing our collaboration and supporting the ambitions of this project.

Neil Garratt: You have acknowledged, MrMayor, some of the work going on there. Just so that you are aware, the London Cancer Hub has amazing potential for life sciences, some of which you have just set out. The site already has the Royal Marsden Hospital and the ICR, plus a new acute-care hospital, which we are hoping will be coming along in the near future. In fact, the ICR discovers more new cancer drugs than any other academic centre in the world. The work they do there is quite amazing, but they are having to turn down opportunities for work and collaboration with industry because of the constraints of the site they are on. It is the London Cancer Hub plan that really unlocks that potential for new jobs as well as life-changing cancer treatments.
My question really is about the one fly in the ointment of that site, which is its poor transport links. What I would ask is whether you would commit to meeting with me, TfL and other stakeholders onsite to see the potential that is there, to understand the transport constraints that are potentially holding it back and to come up with a plan that can really make that site thrive.

Sadiq Khan: Chair, there is not anything that the AssemblyMember has said that I probably disagree with. On many occasions I have met not just those on the Cancer Hub site, but also those from the council who are really keen to improve transport links. There is the short, medium and long term. There is the issue of Sutton Station and Belmont Station, which has only two trains an hour, if I am right, and the bus issues. In the short term, we are consulting on the number 80 and S1 bus routes. If the Government wants to give us devolution of commuter trains, we could have a ‘metro-ised’ system of southern services. We could do a better job with TfL than Southern.
In short, I am more than happy to meet with you and others in the area, but I do not want to give a false expectation. We have put aside a significant amount of money to have a new tram, as indeed has the Council, but there is a shortfall. We have not yet negotiated a deal with the Government around TfL’s current finances and so I do not want to give false hope, but it is really important for us to work together because all of us agree that that Cancer Hub is world leading. We want to remove any obstacles to it fulfilling its potential.

Neil Garratt: Thank you. I look forward to that meeting.